Alex Avila.jpg

Is Alex Avila tipping pitches? Is that the reason the pitching staff for the Detroit Tigers has struggled?

(AP File Photo)

Twitter Talk will go to all ends of the earth to answer the questions Detroit Tigers fans have about their team. No stone will be left unturned. And, apparently, no cliché unused.

In other words, I am not afraid to steal, er, borrow questions that Tigers fans post elsewhere. So let's do some creative borrowing right now.

The story that @MKsmn515 is referring to is right here. In short, a reader of Hardball Talk believes that Alex Avila is tipping his pitches by smacking his glove differently prior to fastballs than he is prior to breaking pitches.

First of all, I wouldn't want to shoot down the theory without going back and watching several games closely and trying to monitor what that reader believes is happening. My apologies, but I just haven't had time to do that. (It takes a lot of time to write like an elementary school kid.)

With that said, if this is true, there's no point in looking for it in the future. If Avila was doing this, he won't anymore.

But in general, these type of explanations seem to be oversimplified. Max Scherzer allowed seven runs in the second inning Tuesday but did not allow a run in the first, third or fourth innings. Was Avila tipping Scherzer's pitches just in the second and not in the other innings?

Bryan Holaday caught Joe Nathan on Thursday. Nathan was spectacular. Was his improvement due to the fact that Holaday was catching and therefore wasn't tipping his pitches?

No chance. Nathan figured something out. His stuff was great. His velocity was up. It was clear from the second he took the mound. In fact, right after Nathan threw his first pitch, a media member in the press box said, "What was that?" That's how much better that pitch was than any Nathan had thrown recently.

Tigers fans probably wish it were as simple as Avila tipping pitches. That would be easily fixable. But I doubt it is that simple.

The answer for struggling starters Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer is the same answer Nathan found: pitch better. Figure out what is making your stuff hittable and stop doing that.

Absolutely, there is. J.D. Martinez has been crushing the ball. He has given the Tigers something they desperately need, a guy with power off the bench and, lately, in the starting lineup. The Tigers need some production in the fifth and sixth spots in the order. Martinez has some pop.

Now, is Martinez going to keep crushing the ball like he has this week? Probably not. Is Don Kelly valuable? Sure, as a versatile 25th player. Could things change by the time Andy Dirks (back surgery) is ready to return from the disabled list? Absolutely.

I've changed my opinion on this in the past week. I might change it again in the next few weeks based on how Martinez and the Tigers are doing. But if Dirks were ready today, it seems to me that Martinez would have the edge over Kelly, even though Martinez has options left and Kelly does not.

Ezequiel Carrera is posting very good numbers for Triple-A Toledo. He is hitting .317 with three home runs, 25 RBIs and 31 stolen bases.

But whose spot would he take? Martinez is hitting the ball well. Kelly is out of options. The Tigers are going to have to do something with one of those two when Dirks is ready to return from the disabled list.

Barring an injury, it seems to me that Carrera is blocked right now.

Some more? Yes. A lot more? No. But it sounds as if Bryan Holaday will get a few more starts at catcher than he has so far this season. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said as much Thursday.

No. Not this season. There very well could come a time when the Tigers will trade Kinsler. I wouldn't be surprised at all. But now? In a season in which they are trying to win a World Series? Trade Kinsler to make room for a player who has never played above Double-A?

Travis is a solid prospect and a good dude. But he's not ready to play second base every day in the majors for a contender. Patience, @Mark_McPherson.

Sure. If the Tigers are entirely out of the playoff hunt by the trade deadline. In other words, there's no chance.

Some fans seem to believe that the Miami Marlins are like a trade deadline Wal-Mart for the Tigers, that Dave Dombrowski can swoop in at any time to get what he needs at discounted prices. The Marlins are not trading Stanton. I mean, they might. Every team would trade any player if the price were right. But Scherzer for Stanton is not the right price. No deal.

Eugenio Suarez got off to a hot start and has cooled off a bit. Is he the long-term answer at shortstop this season? That's tough to tell. I think the expectations of many fans are way too high based on his hot start.

Jayson Stark of ESPN.com wrote Thursday that the Tigers are seeking bullpen help and not asking around about shortstops. It is still more than a month until the trade deadline, so a lot could change. But right now, it appears that the Tigers will sink or swim at shortstop with Suarez.

Had enough? Me, too. Ready for some quality music? OK.

In the next five days, I am going to see the Arctic Monkeys and Brick & Mortar in separate concerts. So here's a video of a 1988 song by the Dead Milkmen because I couldn't think of anything more random:

No matter how much you ignore it, Twitter Talk just keeps coming back. It's almost like it's a weekly feature or something. Until next week, feel free to follow me on Twitter.

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