Detroit Tigers Links: Nick Castellanos finally sees return on hard hitting

At least it’s over

I have no strong takes on yesterday’s game. Michael Fulmer has been the best pitcher on the team so far, he’s allowed to have a sub-par outing. The good news is that we don’t have to play the Angels the rest of the year. So at least there is that.

About that helmet toss

That was a pretty bad look by Nick Castellanos. I would insist that endangering one of the greatest players of all time due to personal frustration is not a good idea. And Miggy did not hide his displeasure when asked about it. It’s a high tension game, but you can’t lose your cool like that.

Yesterday, Brad Ausmus indicated that the frustration was due to Nick Castellanos being removed from the game. But to fully understand the helmet throw, you have to understand the frustration. And to understand the frustration, you need a single chart:

He’s hitting the ball hard more consistently than most of the league, and has little to show for it. Hopefully yesterday’s output is the start of some better luck, but he just has to stay the course, the hits will come.

Buck Farmer is here to stay

At least for a while. His second scoreless start on Wednesday was a career highlight and cemented his spot in the rotation moving forward. As we saw with Matthew Boyd, that cement can be removed pretty quickly, but Farmer has earned additional starts in the bigs. Ausmus remains cautious, but he can’t help but be impressed:

“You know me,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “I don’t throw a parade quickly. But he’s been outstanding, and I hope he continues to be.”

I’m fine with the team riding the hot hand between Boyd and Farmer. If Norris continues to struggle we may even seen a three-way rotation for the fourth and fifth spot. As long as the team is receiving quality outings, it doesn’t matter who is out there.

Let’s check in on Steven Moya

Anddd never mind.

McCann Back

James McCann’s short stint in Toledo is over and he will return to the Tigers Friday with John Hicks likely being sent down. For those of you clamoring for McCann to never play again, remember that Alex Avila is only effective when healthy and being healthy means a time share at catcher. The team needs an effective McCannon.

For your free time

Nate Robinson is the proud owner of the Wichita Wingnuts. Nate Robinson is from Wichita. Pretty awesome. MLive uses some Jon Morosi quotes about it not being a sellers market to indicate the team may have trouble selling J.D. If it comes to that, they are gonna have plenty of takers. Justin Verlander’s start remains in question. The AL Central is a beautiful mess.

Baseball is awesome