Jhonny Peralta deserves nothing but scorn from the Detroit Tigers and their fans. He is a cheater, a title that will follow him for the rest of his career.

If Major League Baseball had the tough drug-testing policy it should have, Peralta would have been suspended for a year or two, not just 50 games, for taking performance-enhancing drugs provided by Biogenesis, the now-infamous South Florida clinic that doled out testosterone and human growth hormone to greedy major leaguers as if it were handing out peanuts and popcorn in the stands.

But because MLB hasn't yet caught up with the Olympic drug testing model of two years for the first offense and a lifetime ban for the second, Peralta is back. He played in three games at the end of the regular season, leaving the Tigers with a fitting moral dilemma for their American League Division Series starting Friday in Oakland: eschew all responsibility as leaders in the community and use him in the playoffs, or follow the admirable example of the San Francisco Giants last year in the Melky Cabrera case and do the right thing – keep Peralta out of the postseason, likely ending his days in Detroit.

MORE: Indians, Rays fight to keep momentum

The Tigers don't have to announce their decision until Friday, but by all appearances, it's already made. It looks as if they are going to play the guy. They brought in Jose Iglesias to replace him at shortstop, but they want his bat in the lineup – Peralta hit .303 with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs in 107 games this season – so it appears they're making a place for him in left field, where Peralta is not known as a top-flight defensive player.

"If you accept that bat, then you'd be willing to accept what happens in left field," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said the other day.

Now there's a baseball answer for a baseball issue. What else would we expect from Leyland, one of the best managers in the game?

MORE: Peralta ready to play left field in playoffs

But there are others in the Tigers organization who should know better, who should realize that this decision should be about much more than baseball strategy. It's a referendum, frankly, on just how serious Major League clubs really are about cleaning up their sport's very serious steroid problem.

Using the Tigers as our test case, presuming they play Peralta, we have our answer: Not very. They are nowhere near ready to do what they really must to rid their sport of performance-enhancing drugs.

A 50-game suspension here and there just won't cut it. That's the Olympic equivalent of stripping Ben Johnson's 100-meter gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but allowing him to run in the men's 4x100-meter relay a week later. It would have been unthinkable, even then, in the Olympic world.

MORE: Columnist to stop using term 'Redskins'

To make a strong statement to your team and to the young people watching it play, a club has to take away meaningful things from cheating players. Clearly, the Tigers have no inclination to do that, which is all the more disappointing because they were given the perfect primer on this subject last year by the Giants, who, ironically, ended up beating them in the World Series.

In 2012, the Giants decided not to bring Cabrera back for the playoffs even though he would have been eligible for the National League Championship Series. He was having a terrific season; he would have won the National League batting title had he not taken himself out of consideration for the honor. (He was hitting .346 when he was suspended.) As important as Peralta is to the Tigers this year, Cabrera was more important to the Giants last year.

Sadly, the Tigers have bungled the Peralta situation from the beginning. The day that he was suspended, Leyland of course was asked about him. Instead of taking the opportunity to talk to kids about cheating, or mention the dangers of PEDs, or offer any worthwhile thoughts at all, Leyland replied, "See ya guys. You were told I wasn't going to comment on that," and his pre-game news conference was over in less than 90 seconds.

Based on that performance, it's no surprise that the mistakes keep on coming in Detroit.

SHARECONNECT 2
TWEETCOMMENTEMAILMOREUSA NOW Government shutdown turns into PR blame game | USA NOW video
Oct 02, 2013

Peralta hits the walk off homer in the seventh game of the world series and he becomes another Jason Giambi.

He'll carry the Billy Mazeroski tag forever.

Baseball America's all rookie team. Gomes does not qualify, I didn't realize. Only one reliever picked, so no spot for Cody Allen.


2013 Major League All-Rookie Team


October 3, 2013 by Matt Eddy












Selected by Baseball America

A rookie class for the ages in 2012 featured unsurpassed top-shelf talent with the likes of Yu Darvish, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Mike Trout. While this year’s class may not quite hit those high notes, it offers considerable depth, especially on the pitching side of the ledger, where one could comfortably fill three rotations with high-end rookie starters.

Consider the pitchers who did not make this year’s all-rookie team: Chris Archer (Rays), Tony Cingrani (Reds), Sonny Gray (Athletics), Wily Peralta (Brewers), Martin Perez (Rangers), Danny Salazar (Indians), Dan Straily (Athletics), Michael Wacha (Cardinals), Alex Wood (Braves) and Zack Wheeler (Mets). How many of those arms would you not want in your dynasty league farm system?

The position-player depth was less impressive, though the Rays’ Wil Myers and the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig will both be patrolling right field for a long time while being annual threats to win the home run crown. They didn’t shine as brightly while exhausting their rookie eligibility, but Rangers middle infielder Jurickson Profar and Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich also have star potential.

Two of the National League’s premier organizations are also two of the best represented on this rookie team. The Cardinals introduced three more impact players to their major league roster, calling on first baseman Matt Adams, righthander Shelby Miller and set-up man Trevor Rosenthal. The Braves, meanwhile, received contributions from catcher/left fielder Evan Gattis and righthander Julio Teheran that helped push them to 96 wins and their first NL East division title since 2005.

Not to be outdone, the NL’s two other playoff teams also have rookie-team representatives. The Dodgers scored big on the international market with right fielder Yasiel Puig and lefthander Hyun-Jin Ryu, while the Pirates received four months of strong pitching from righthander Gerrit Cole.

Note: Indians catcher Yan Gomes and Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin are not eligible for the AL rookie of the year award because they had too much service time in past seasons.


C Evan Gattis • Braves

In a season in which several top catching prospects made their big league debuts—among them Travis d’Arnaud (Mets), Tony Sanchez (Pirates) and Mike Zunino (Mariners)—Gattis outshined them all, swatting 21 home runs to rank fourth on a Braves club that led the NL in longballs. The only catch: Gattis started just 10 games at catcher during the final three months of the season, deferring to Brian McCann and Gerald Laird. In fact, he got into the lineup more often in left field (47 games) than behind the plate (38) overall.

Age AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
27 .243 105 354 44 86 21 0 21 65 21 81 0 0 .291 .480 .771



1B Matt Adams • Cardinals

For most teams, losing a first baseman the caliber of Allen Craig, who collected 97 RBIs in 134 games thanks to a .454 average with runners in scoring position, would spell certain doom. Not so for the Cardinals, who simply plugged in Adams, the ready-and-able rookie who hit .315/.344/.609 with eight homers in 25 September games while covering for the hobbled Craig. The Cardinals hope that trend continues in the postseason because they’ll be without Craig for at least the Division Series versus the Pirates.

Age AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
25 .284 108 296 46 84 14 0 17 51 23 80 0 1 .335 .503 .838



2B Jedd Gyorko • Padres


Gyorko entered the season with all of 51 games of experience at second base in the minors, but he exited the season as one of the Padres’ primary run-producers and the entrenched regular at the keystone. In the process, he became just the fifth rookie second sacker to hit 20 home runs—joining Joe Gordon (1938), Dan Uggla (2006), Alexei Ramirez (2008) and Danny Espinosa (2011)—though the feat has become more common as teams favor offense at the position. In fact, Gyorko led all rookies with 23 homers, despite calling cavernous Petco Park home. Among the second basemen to challenge him for all-rookie honors were the Mariners’ Nick Franklin, the Brewers’ Scooter Gennett and the Nationals’ Anthony Rendon.

Age AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
25 .249 125 486 62 121 26 0 23 63 33 123 1 1 .301 .444 .745



3B Nolan Arenado • Rockies

The Rockies have been down this road before with Ian Stewart and Chris Nelson, homegrown third basemen they selected out of high school in the early rounds of the draft. Arenado received a giant Coors Field boost, batting just .238/.267/.352 with five homers in 67 road games, but he had so little rookie competition at the hot corner—the Phillies’ Cody Asche hit well in a small sample—that his substandard offense paired with a terrific glove carried the day. Advanced fielding metrics indicate that Arenado contributed defensive value on par with Gold Glove-caliber third basemen Evan Longoria or Manny Machado, but that his bat was as light as former Chatworth (Calif.) High teammates Matt Dominguez and Mike Moustakas.

Age AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
22 .267 133 486 49 130 29 4 10 52 23 72 2 0 .301 .405 .706



SS Jose Iglesias • Tigers


Faced with an impending 50-game suspension for all-star shortstop Jhonny Peralta, the Tigers executed a three-team trade on July 30 in which they sacrificed top prospect Avisail Garcia to acquire the slick-fielding Iglesias from the Red Sox. The Cuban shortstop hit an unprecedented (and unsustainable) .367/.417/.461 in 199 plate appearances for Boston in the first half, so even as he regressed to a .235/.274/.306 batting line (183 PAs) in the second half, he continued to provide a reliable glove behind Tigers starters Doug Fister and Rick Porcello, two of the most extreme groundball pitchers in the majors. Iglesias’ primary rookie shortstop competition consisted of the Mariners’ Brad Miller and the Pirates’ Jordy Mercer, two college shortstops with greater offensive upside, and the Diamondbacks’ Didi Gregorius, a gifted defender who similarly started hot and then tailed off down the stretch.

Age AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
23 .303 109 350 39 106 16 2 3 29 15 60 5 2 .349 .386 .735



CF A.J. Pollock • Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks expected to receive strong defensive contributions from a table-setting rookie center fielder this season. They just didn’t expect that center fielder to be Pollock. The organization had paved the way for the overachieving Adam Eaton to play every day in 2013, but a spring-training elbow injury scuttled those plans, and Pollock stepped forward in a big way. He made more starts and produced more offense than any member of a thin rookie center-field crop that includes the Astros’ Brandon Barnes, the Mets’ Juan Lagares and the Brewers’ Logan Schafer.

Age AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
25 .269 137 443 64 119 28 5 8 38 33 82 12 3 .322 .409 .731



OF Wil Myers • Rays

The Rays went 36-33 prior to Myers’ arrival on June 18, and then 56-38 (.596) afterward as he led all AL rookies with 23 doubles and 53 RBIs—the Twins’ Oswaldo Arcia had one more home run—while adding a power-and-patience dimension to Tampa Bay’s lineup. Of course, Myers’ arrival coincided with ace David Price finding his groove following a disabled-list stint (9-4, 2.53 in 18 starts) and rookie righthander Chris Archer fully maturing from thrower to pitcher (8-5, 3.01 in 20 starts). All told, Myers hit 27 home runs between Triple-A Durham and the majors, so profile power for right field will not be an issue.

Age AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
22 .295 87 332 49 98 23 0 13 53 31 90 5 2 .353 .482 .835



OF Yasiel Puig • Dodgers

Though he plays the game with a flair that rubs some opponents the wrong way, Puig hit .319/.391/.534 to lead all rookies with at least 400 plate appearances in average, OBP, slugging percentage and isolated power (.215). Like Myers, his performance leaves no doubt about future power production in right field, not after belting 27 homers between Double-A Chattanooga and the Dodgers. His arrival in Los Angeles on June 3 also coincided with returns to form by Zack Greinke and Hanley Ramirez, leading the Dodgers to a 69-38 (.645) record the rest of the way. Pitchers succeeded in expanding Puig’s strike zone early in the year, but he stabilized his hitting approach in August and September, batting .273/.373/.487 with 21 extra-base hits in 54 games and a workable 24-to-46 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

Age AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
22 .319 104 382 66 122 21 2 19 42 36 97 11 8 .391 .534 .925



DH Kole Calhoun • Angels

While he’s nobody’s idea of a profile corner outfielder, the 5-foot-10 Calhoun has done nothing but hit while being pushed aggressively up the ladder. The 2010 eighth-rounder from Arizona State brandishes a .943 OPS in minor league play, and this season he made the most of playing time in Anaheim created by injuries to Peter Bourjos and Albert Pujols. Making 45 starts in right field and four others at first base, Calhoun delivered an .808 OPS with a strong batting eye, and he offers more upside going forward than other hard-hitting corner rookies such as the Brewers’ Khris Davis or the Phillies’ Darin Ruf.

Age AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
25 .282 58 195 29 55 7 2 8 32 21 41 2 2 .347 .462 .809



SP Gerrit Cole • Pirates


Cole was one of two rookie starters this season to record an average fastball velocity of 95 mph or greater while working at least 50 innings. He averaged 95.5 to rank a close second to the Indians’ Danny Salazar at 95.9. For a pitcher who has been heavily scrutinized since turning down the Yankees as a first-round pick in 2008, then going No. 1 overall in the draft three years later, Cole has not wilted under the extra pressure. His performance with Pittsburgh, particularly the 3.57 K-BB ratio, was the best of his pro career.

Age W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
23 10 7 3.22 19 19 0 117 109 43 42 7 28 100 2.15 7.67 1.17



SP Jose Fernandez • Marlins

Fernandez was so good, so young that he turned in the best season by an age-20 pitcher since Dwight Gooden in 1985, nearly 30 seasons ago. How times have changed. Doctor K went 24-4, 1.53 with 268 strikeouts in 277 innings, more than 100 additional innings than Fernandez this season. The young Marlins ace led the NL with a .182 opponent average and all rookies with a 2.19 ERA, 187 strikeouts and a 0.98 WHIP, expertly deploying a power fastball-curveball repertoire.

Age W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
21 12 6 2.19 28 28 0 173 111 47 42 10 58 187 3.02 9.75 0.98



SP Shelby Miller • Cardinals

The Cardinals demonstrate as well as any organization that player development doesn’t stop once a player dons a major league uniform. They’ve been remarkably successful while breaking in numerous rookie pitchers, such as Miller and Michael Wacha this season, Joe Kelly last year, Lance Lynn in 2011 and Jaime Garcia in 2010—not to mention countless relievers. Miller could be the best of the lot if he can extend his first-half success this year—2.92 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 3.86 K-BB ratio—over a complete season.

Age W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
22 15 9 3.06 31 31 0 173 152 65 59 20 57 169 2.96 8.78 1.21



SP Hyun-Jin Ryu • Dodgers

Ryu had no trouble slotting into the Dodgers rotation behind Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke as he transitioned from the Korean major league to the NL. While he didn’t provide the jaw-dropping highs of the other pitchers here—or the impact of Myers or teammate Puig—he did deliver the most innings by a rookie (192) while not hurting himself with walks, home runs or stolen bases. Opponents succeeded on only one of three steal attempts despite Ryu’s heavy diet of changeups (22 percent of the time), sliders (14) and curves (10).

Age W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
26 14 8 3.00 30 30 0 192 182 67 64 15 49 154 2.30 7.22 1.20



SP Julio Teheran • Braves

Teheran ran up a 5.08 ERA at Triple-A in 2012, so he entered this season with the lowest of expectations. He reversed his fortune by de-emphasizing his four-seam fastball and changeup in favor of a two-seamer and slider, and positive results followed. Teheran led all rookie starters with a 3.78 K-BB ratio while logging 30 starts and 186 innings. After a dry period in the 2000s, the Braves system has once again been cranking out starting pitchers such as Brandon Beachy, Tommy Hanson (whom they traded just before his collapse), Kris Medlen, Mike Minor, Teheran and Alex Wood. Give them credit for Randall Delgado and Zeke Spruill, too, whom they used to pry Justin Upton away from the Diamondbacks.

Age W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
22 14 8 3.20 30 30 0 186 173 69 66 22 45 170 2.18 8.24 1.17



RP Trevor Rosenthal • Cardinals

A 21st-round pick out of junior college in Kansas in 2009, Rosenthal may be the player-development success story in a Cardinals system full of them. The converted shortstop shot through the minors to assume a place of prominence in the St. Louis bullpen during the 2012 postseason. Rosenthal relies on little more than a 95-97 mph fastball he throws nine out of 10 times to strike out a rookie reliever-best 35 percent of batters faced. What’s more, the only rookie reliever with at least 40 innings to generate a higher rate of swinging strikes than Rosenthal (14.7 percent) was Dodgers lefty Paco Rodriguez (15.8 percent).

Age W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO BB/9 SO/9 WHIP
23 2 4 2.63 74 0 3 75 63 25 22 4 20 108 2.39 12.90 1.10

What’s more, the only rookie reliever with at least 40 innings to generate a higher rate of swinging strikes than Rosenthal (14.7 percent) was Dodgers lefty Paco Rodriguez (15.8 percent).

BA has suggested 2013 Tribe draftee Kyle Crockett could track Rodriguez' success in a quick rise to the majors.

Tampa Bay elected to keep all five starting pitchers -- David Price, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, Chris Archer and Jeremy Hellickson -- for its series against the Red Sox. The only remaining question for the Rays is who will start Game 4, Archer or Hellickson, and which starter will be asked to work out of the bullpen.

Roberto Hernandez did not make the team. No surprise I guess.

Checking the rosters down in Panama, no Indians this year, but this name stood out

GREGORY TITTS OF 5"10 157 23/06/1995 BOS L L BETHANIA PANAMA

Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports that the Marlins are "all-in" in their pursuit of Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu.
Frisaro says the Marlins were "well represented" at Abreu’s two-day workout in the Dominican Republic this week and are "highly impressed" with the first baseman. He adds that the Marlins are "seriously thinking about" possibly coughing up the $40-50 million it will surely take to sign Abreu. Frisaro notes that the Marlins could consider him at third base if he can prove to be passable there. The Giants, Rangers, Red Sox, Nationals, Pirates, White Sox and Mets have also been linked to the power-hitting Cuban defector.
Related: Marlins


Source: MLBlogs.com Oct 4 - 3:45 PM

The Cincinnati Reds wanted Dusty Baker to resign.

He refused.

They wanted him to call it a career?

He's not ready.

They wanted him to fire his hitting coach, Brook Jacoby.

He declined.

So the Reds fired Baker.

Jhonny Peroider a hero in Detroit!

Told y'a so

Not quite the 7th game of the world series with two outs but close enough I guess.

Charles Nagy didn't exactly get a pat on the back on his way out the door out here in Arizona.

Kevin Towers, Az GM, said the pitching has regressed since 2011 and he wants a new pitching coach that can instill "toughness" in his staff and has to get back to "pitching inside".

Guess Charlie "the nibbler" Nagy couldn't get that across to his pitchers.

I just watched the last 5 innings (8-13) of game one of the NLCS with a 2-2 tie.

I don't know if it was real time.....but I didn't know the outcome if it was a recast.

Without announcers....only the crowd noise and the slap of ball on leather and ball on bat.

I guess the AFN could allow to show the game but not pay for the announcers. It made watching a little more fun.

Very tense game.. not sure if it was because of lack of announcer or what....if they match up like this the whole series it may be one of the best matchups in a while. I haven't followed either NL team much, but it should be good.

I still don't know who to root against more in the ALCS. Probably Detroit, and let Boston lose the World Series.

Two observations; when did people forget how to spell Johnny, and don't players with scraggly beards look stupid striking out?

They look stupid! Period!

Tigers may trade Scherzer this winter before cost skyrockets

CBSSports.com | Oct 10

Baseball's winter trade market will feature a Cy Young winner.

Or two Cy Young winners.

The Rays will almost certainly trade David Price. But there's also a very real chance that the Tigers trade Max Scherzer, according to sources.

Scherzer hasn't won a Cy Young yet, but he's the heavy favorite to win the award in the American League this year after going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA, leading the league in WHIP (0.97) and finishing second to Yu Darvish in strikeouts.

So why would the Tigers trade him?

Because Scherzer is one year away from free agency and is a Scott Boras client who is very unlikely to sign a long-term deal this close to being able to test the market. The Tigers may make an attempt to sign him after this season, but they realize that it's unlikely he would accept a deal now.

With or without a new deal, Scherzer's 2014 salary figures to jump to somewhere around $20 million, a stiff price for a team that already has three players making more than $20 million a year (Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Justin Verlander), and three others who will make between $12 million and $16 million next year (Victor Martinez, Torii Hunter and Anibal Sanchez).

And while the Tigers have been one of baseball's biggest spenders in recent years, there's some uncertainty if they'll continue to spend as much in the years to come.

If the Tigers do shop Scherzer, many teams would likely be interested, even though an acquiring team would face the same trouble locking him up long-term that the Tigers do.

The Nationals have long had interest in Scherzer, and have enough young pitching to get a deal done. The Rangers, who could chase Price, are another team with plenty of prospects and a need for a top pitcher. The Cardinals seem to churn out quality pitchers, but could believe that as a Missouri native, Scherzer would be more inclined to stay with them if they traded for him. The Orioles could be another possibility.

Other teams, such as the Yankees, Angels and Blue Jays, hope to acquire top pitching this winter, but likely don't have enough to trade for a pitcher as valuable as Scherzer.

Some baseball people familiar with the Tigers believe that the team's winter plans -- including a possible Scherzer trade -- could hinge on whether the Tigers win Thursday night's Game 5 in Oakland to advance to the AL Championship Series. There's some belief that if the Tigers lose that game, there could be significant changes before next season.

Win or lose, though, a Scherzer trade seems a real possibility.