Detroit Tigers News: Brad Ausmus is angry with accusations against Buck Farmer

The Cleveland Indians’ 21st consecutive victory overshadowed everything else about Wednesday’s contest with the Tigers. However, one event in particular left Tigers manager Brad Ausmus quite upset.

In the third inning, after catcher James McCann and Ausmus were ejected for arguing balls and strikes, Buck Farmer drilled home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott in the neck with a nasty two-seamer. It was obviously the result of backup catcher John Hicks and Farmer not yet being on the same page. The Indians’ broadcast, and the home crowd, chose to embrace their own conspiracy theory instead.

The implication was that Farmer and Hicks had set Wolcott up as payback for McCann and Ausmus’ ejections. Both Ausmus and Hicks were understandably furious and they weren’t shy about their opinions after the game.

Jose Iglesias has another son and a wild tale to tell

Birth stories are a time honored piece of folk art (or even performance art in the proper hands). Well, Jose Iglesias and his family now have a doozy. Iglesias went home to Miami for the birth of his second son, but afterward found himself trying to sort through the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Iglesias describes wandering the east coast of the state looking for a place to stay before finally being able to get power restored and bring his family back home.

Quick hits

It’s a subscription site, but Katie Strang at The Athletic Detroit has a pretty detailed exploration of Michael Fulmer’s ulnar nerve transposition surgery. Chris McCosky at the Detroit News has a piece on Jeimer Candelario’s mature approach to the game and the impact his faith has on his focus and preparation. Ben Carsley at Baseball Prospectus offers a nice, albeit painful retrospective on the 2011-2014 Tigers as the era sputters to its quiet, frustrating end.

Otani mania

Ashley has a piece up on the looming presence of one Shohei Otani, who is ready to sign with a major league club this offseason. Pursuit of the dual threat prospect will be one of the more compelling stories of the offseason. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs wrote about how to woo the Japanese superstar. Considering the number of teams with substantial bonus pool money and Otani’s apparent disinterest in maximizing his earnings, this should get interesting. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports looked at which teams had the best chance to land Otani — hint, the Yankees and the Red Sox have the most bonus pool money available.

Around the horn

Michael Baumann at The Ringer wonders what in the heck is happening to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Eno Sarris at FanGraphs investigates former Tiger Eugenio Suarez and his developing ability to hit all types of fastball. Suarez launched a grand slam on Wednesday, so, great I guess. Phillies phenom Rhys Hoskins continues to mash taters. Grant Brisbee turned his love and attention to the Indians’ winning streak.

Baseball is awesome