Some people say that writing is cathartic. A number of those people also think that baseball is fun. I worry that writing this might bring me closer to something similar to PTSD than catharsis, but I guess it can’t hurt to try.

And baseball is not fun.

As everyone is well-aware by now, the Baltimore Orioles swept the Detroit Tigers in a best-of-five game series to capture the ALDS title. It seems as though a lot of Tigers fans (myself included) were highly underestimating the 96-win Orioles coming into the series. Few expected the Tigers to lose. Even fewer expected the Tigers to be swept.

But that’s baseball. You can’t predict it, and you’d be a fool to even try… unless you bet on Baltimore and the Kansas City Royals to square off in the 2014 ALCS. Then you’d just be a rich fool.

Anyhow, the debacle at Comerica Park yesterday mercifully put the final nail in the Tigers’ coffin. Detroit underachieved from start to finish this year, winning just 90 games and barely squeaking out an AL Central crown, despite rolling with the fifth-highest payroll in the MLB.

Let’s take a look at what went wrong (surprise, it’s the bullpen) and what went right (surprise, all is not lost).

Lineup

Ian Kinsler (.273/.307/.449/5.5 WAR) – My first thought here – Holy s**t, Ian Kinsler had a 5.5 WAR. For those unaware, WAR is an advanced baseball stat that measures a player’s effectiveness against that of a minor league replacement player at the same position. In essence, this stat is saying that Kinsler was worth 5.5 wins to the Tigers this year. Kinsler’s year (and what he alleviated the Tigers of) certainly give his WAR a sense of credibility. For the first time in a long time, the Tigers had an effective, mostly consistent leadoff hitter. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez can’t eat unless the table is set, and Kinsler was a quality butler. Kinsler has an absurd propensity for popping out and struggling in the second half of the year, but those are problems he’s had his whole career. They’re not likely to ever change, but hey, Prince Fielder only hit three homeruns this year.

Defensively, Kinsler was an absolute stud. The Gold Glove is a joke of an award (see: Derek Jeter, 5), but if it had any sense of legitimacy, Kinsler would be a top candidate for the 2014 edition. Kins can turn a double play with the best of ‘em (let’s forget Game 3), and his range would make any pre-2004 stove jealous. Lastly, yet most importantly, Kinsler wears his socks high. Maybe that’s why I like him.

Grade: B+

Torii Hunter (.286/.319/.446/0.4 WAR) – Two players in and we’re already presented with both ends of the spectrum. Hunter had a higher batting average, on-base percentage and nearly the same slugging percentage as Kinsler, yet he was worth about five fewer wins. Yo. The reason for this is that Torii Hunter is not the Torii Hunter of yesterday. Hunter was widely known across baseball as one of the best defensive outfielders in the game for more than a few years. He’s 39 now, however, and his defense has dropped off drastically. More than once this year, Hunter looked lost when trying to locate a routine fly ball. He posted a dWAR (defensive WAR) of -2.4, which brings his two-year total with Detroit to -3.9. Yes, folks, our defense is still really bad. Not that you didn’t already know that.

Intangibles save Hunter, however. Rarely do you see him without a massive smile strewn across his face and never does Torii let the game rob him of his perspective. He’s an absolute class act (what a terrible term), a clubhouse leader, and he’s the only ex-Minnesota Twin I would ever agree with the Tigers signing. Following the game, Hunter discussed his retirement, saying that it had been weighing heavy on his mind for some time now. Whatever Hunter decides to do, the baseball world is behind him in full. Best wishes, Torii.

Grade: B-

Miguel Cabrera (.313/.371/.524/4.9 WAR) – Miggy is a tough player to evaluate this year. The thing that stands out to me immediately is his plate discipline throughout the season. Cabrera walked just 60 times this year – his second-lowest total in a season with over 600 at-bats (every season post-2003). There is no doubt that Cabrera was playing hurt all season, but his plate discipline was severely lacking and it was crystal clear to the naked eye. In years past, Cabrera has been so effective by waiting for a mistake and making the pitcher consider retirement. This year, he couldn’t seem to lay off a pitch.

Now, I’ll stop ragging on the greatest right-handed hitter of my lifetime. Despite playing injured, Cabrera battled through to play in 159 games. He smacked a career-high 52 doubles, hit 25 homeruns (second-lowest post-2003) and drove in 109 runs. For the seventh consecutive year, we’re lucky to have Cabrera in Detroit.

Oh, and Cabrera posted a dWAR of -1.0. Obviously, first base is easier than right field, but who would’ve ever thought Cabrera would have a better defensive season than Torii Hunter?

Grade: A-

Victor Martinez (.335/.409/.565/5.3WAR) – As Scott Rogowski (@DNR_Rogo) says on Twitter, If I ever have a son, I’m naming him Contract Year Victor. Martinez, at 35-years-old, had easily the best offensive year of his career. In addition to his mind-numbing slashline, VMart hit 32 homeruns, 33 doubles and knocked in 103 runs. Even crazier, Martinez walked 70 times in comparison to a sickeningly low 42 strikeouts. In Grantland.com’s ALDS Preview, Ben Lindbergh pointed out that there was as much distance between Martinez’s walk-to-strikeout rate and second-place Jose Bautista’s as there was between Bautista’s and the two players tied for 63rd.

No, Martinez can’t run. And no, Martinez can’t field. But that’s what we’re in the American League for. Let’s thank the baseball gods for the DH one more time, because everyone knows the Tigers would be sunk without it. And maybe give a sacrificial offering if you think it will help Martinez re-sign with Detroit for next season.

Grade: A

J.D. Martinez (.315/.358/.553/4.2 WAR) – First thing first here. J.D. Martinez had a higher slugging percentage than Miguel Cabrera this season. J.D. Martinez was cut by the Houston Astros last season. The Houston Astros lost 92 games this year. Let us thank the Houston Astros.

But seriously, J.D. was as important to the Tigers this year as anyone. He came out of absolutely nowhere, filled in for Andy Dirks and made us forget that Dirks even existed. Martinez hit 23 homeruns this year, most of which were no-doubters, and racked up 76 RBIs. He played a respectable left field, posting a -0.5 dWAR. Yes, that’s respectable for a Tigers outfielder. Without a doubt, Martinez get’s my vote for Breakout Player of the Year, if that’s a real thing.

Martinez, who was playing under a minor league contract all season, also gets my vote for Bargain of the Year. He is arbitration eligible this offseason, and will certainly get a well-deserved raise. The Tigers have him under control until 2015, but expect the two sides to start negotiating an extension before the end of next season.

P.S. In your face, Juan Gonzalez.

Grade: A+

Nick Castellanos (.259/.306/.394/-1.5 WAR) – I don’t care about Brad Ausmus’ harebrained plan to hit Avila 6th in the ALDS, Castellanos goes here.

In his first full big-league season, Castellanos showed flashes of his much-hyped potential. His swing looked sweet, he showcased some power and, perhaps most importantly, was able to hit to all fields. Castellanos was always lauded for his skills at the plate, and a .259 rookie season is nothing to scoff at. Sure, he didn’t put up All-Star numbers, but no one should have expected him to. I think Castellanos will be a main-stay in the middle of the order for a long time coming.

His defense, however, is, well… abysmal. Remember when Miggy played third base last season and everyone talked about how bad he was? He posted a -1.5 dWAR. Nick Castellanos in 2014? -2.7 dWAR. That ranks dead last in qualifying third baseman in the MLB. The Tigers organization is slightly at fault here, as they threw Castellanos in the outfield for some time in his minor league development, but regardless, Castellanos was a major crutch at third base this season. Hopefully defensive savant Omar Vizquel can help him out this offseason.

Grade: C+

Alex Avila (.218/.327/.359/2.0 WAR) – Raise your hand if you knew Alex Avila had a higher OBP than Kinsler, Hunter and Castellanos this season. Anyone? Me neither.

I almost did an entire piece on Avila, largely because he’s so polarizing and largely because I have no idea how I feel about him. Since we’ve been looking at offense first throughout this piece, that’s where we’ll start. He’s not good. Outside of his flash-in-the-pan 2011 season (.295 BA), Avila has always been a liability at the plate. He seems to be in love with the 4-3 groundout, and even more in love with his Mike Tyson-worthy uppercut swing. For whatever reason, however, Avila seems to come up clutch late in games. He hit 11 homeruns this year, more than one of which came when the Tigers desperately needed it. I’m still baffled as to how he managed a .327 OBP.

Defensively, Avila is one of the best in the game. His 1.5 dWAR ranks him sixth among qualifying catchers and he is often praised for his ability to handle a pitching staff, although having such a good staff probably makes that side of things a tad easier. He threw out 33.6% of would-be base stealers, which was good for second in the league. If you came here for a bold statement, here it is. Alex Avila was the biggest piece in winning the division this year. Ok, maybe that’s a little too bold. Regardless, we all saw what the Royals did to the Oakland A’s in the wildcard game. They ran. And stole. And ran and stole and ran and stole until they were finally able to steal a win. The Tigers were 13-6 against the Royals this year. KC simply couldn’t play their game because of Avila behind the plate. Hate him or tolerate him, Avila is important to this squad. Let’s hope his health is ok. If it’s not, he should retire. Concussions are nothing to mess around with.

Grade: B-

Andrew Romine (.227/.279/.275/0.2 WAR) – Fun fact of the day: Andrew Romine has as many career homeruns as Joe Nathan – two. If I had it my way, I would be writing about Eugenio Suarez in the spot instead of Romine, but such is baseball. I would talk about Romine at the plate this year, but I’m not really sure what I’d say. “Nice .275 slugging percentage,” maybe? My anger with Romine does not lie at the plate. Nay, it lies in the field. And maybe it shouldn’t even be directed at him.

In 94 games, Romine posted a 0.3 dWAR. Remember when Ausmus told us Romine was starting for his defense? In 85 games, Suarez had an 0.1 dWAR. Just because Romine can’t hit does not mean he is a defensive savant. Quite the opposite, actually. We miss you, Jose Iglesias. Please, get well soon.

Grade: D+

Rajai Davis (.282/.320/.401/1.2 WAR) – Center field is another tough position to pick who to discuss, but Austin Jackson is gone and I’d rather not think about Ezequiel Carerra more than I have to. Davis’ bread and butter is his speed, and, until his late-season injury, he showcased that speed admirably, stealing 36 bases and creating havoc that doesn’t show up in a box score. His .282 average is more than serviceable, and he was able to rack up 27 doubles and 51 RBIs. At the plate, it’s hard to find much to be mad at Davis for.

Defensively, Davis was forced into center field following the Jackson trade. Davis’ dWAR was an unfortunate -1.4, but his career dWAR is -1.3, so this wasn’t much of a surprise. He covers a lot of ground, but doesn’t take the best routes to the ball. Let’s not talk about his arm. As a corner outfielder, Davis makes more sense, but the Tigers simply didn’t have that luxury this year.

Grade: B

If you’re still reading, I applaud you. This is pretty cathartic, although I would like the leeway to curse a little bit more. I’d like to tackle each player individually, but if I delve too deep into the bench and the bullpen, I fear my computer will end up on the pavement 50 feet below me. Instead, I’ll focus on each starting pitcher and combine the bullpen and bench into their own categories.

But first, a few clerical notes. If you’ve made it this far, I assume you’re either insane or a huge Tigers fan (the two often overlap) and you have a decent understanding of baseball statistics. In case I’m wrong, I’ll let Fangraphs explain a couple here.

FIP – “Fielding Independent Pitching measures what a player’s ERA would look like over a given period of time if the pitcher were to have experienced league average results on balls in play and league average timing.” (www.fangraphs.com). Essentially, FIP tells what a pitcher’s ERA should be when defense and statistical anomalies are factored out. FIP is measured similarly to ERA, so anything under a 3.2 is considered great, and above 4.4 is awful (fangraphs rankings).

WHIP – Bear with me, this one is a lot simpler. WHIP stand for, “Walks and Hits Per Innings Pitched.” That’s it. A WHIP under 1 is very good. Above 1.5 is pretty terrible.

Rotation

Max Scherzer (220 IP, 252 K, 63 BB, 2.85 FIP, 1.175 WHIP) – Well, Tiger fans, we may have seen the last of Max in the Old English D. He says he wants to come back, but what free agent doesn’t say that? Scherzer is poised to make a ton of money in free agency, and someone will be ready to outbid the Tigers.

Anyhow, Scherzer was great again this year. He wasn’t quite as good as his 2013 Cy Young season, but rarely does a pitcher post such seasons back-to-back. Scherzer totaled a career high in strikeouts and innings pitched, and took on the workhorse ace role that a struggling Justin Verlander left wide open. If Game 1 truly was Scherzer’s last start as a Tiger, it’ll be sad to see him go. Scherzer, more than anything, lets us say, “We won the trade.” And when saying that to the Yankees, it feels pretty good.

Grade: A-

Justin Verlander (206 IP, 159 K, 65 BB, 3.75 FIP, 1.398 WHIP) – Well, JV, it wasn’t your year. 206 IP, 65 walks and a 3.75 FIP are all respectable numbers, but 159 strikeouts are the second-lowest of his career and a 1.398 WHIP falls between Roberto Hernandez (you may remember him as Fausto Carmona) and Aaron Harang. Yikes. Verlander gave up a career-high 9.7 hits per 9 innings, yet he won three more games than he did last season. Next time someone tells you that wins matter, remember this stat, among others.

Verlander looked moderately improved towards the end of the year and he seemed to be developing himself into a contact pitcher rather than a power pitcher. With the Tigers’ defense behind him, that’s pretty scary. But if it helps him improve, who am I to judge?

Oh, and lest we forget, Verlander got hit first hit this year. Two, actually. Ended with a .333 batting average. He rakes.

Grade: C

Anibal Sanchez (126 IP, 102 K, 30 BB, 2.71 FIP, 1.095 WHIP) – Oh, Anibal. Had he not gotten hurt, who knows how the season would have turned out. Sanchez, the 2013 AL ERA champion, is one of the most underrated pitchers in the game, for my money. Sanchez suffered a strained pectoralis on August 8, and underwent a major setback in his rehab that led to an extended stint on the DL. Before that series of unfortunate events, however, Sanchez was absolutely dealing. His FIP and WHIP were the lowest among Tigers staff members for the season, and, although he missed the last few months, I believe they would have stayed that way. It’s really difficult to find a bad thing to say about Sanchez. Here’s to a healthy 2015.

Grade: A (Can’t fault injury)

Rick Porcello (204 IP, 129 K, 41 BB, 3.67 FIP, 1.231 WHIP) – Hey ladies, his real name is Frederick Alfred Porcello. Not so attracted to him now, are you?

Ah, who am I kidding? Porcello is dreamy. And, if his 2014 campaign is any indication, he might just be getting dreamier. Porcello faltered a lotta bit in the last month of the season, but Tigers fans saw him put up the best season of his career in 2014. It was his sixth full season as a starter, and he’s still just 25.

Porcello tossed 204.2 innings – the best of his career. His next closest was 182 in 2011. The 1.231 WHIP was also the best of Porcello’s career, as were his three complete games. Porcello was drafted with promise of being a future number one starter. Although this is still a pipe dream, Tigers fans can get excited about this season from Rick.

Grade: B

David Price (77 IP, 82 K, 15 BB, 2.44 FIP, 1.146 WHIP) – Obviously these numbers are just from his stint with the Tigers, but why should we care about anything else? Price took some heat from Tigers fans for not living up to his billing as an ace, but his FIP suggests otherwise. The Tigers are simply not good fielders. Price put on a strong showing in game 162 against the Twins and another good outing in Game 3 against the Orioles, sullied by a homerun from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named that landed inches inside the right field foul pole.

Price was good for the Tigers this year, although few will be surprised if Drew Smyly turns into a top-of-the-line starter with the Tampa Bay Rays. He is set to become a free agent in 2015, meaning unless the Tigers clean house, we’ll get to see Price pitch in Detroit for at least another season.

Grade: B+

The Bullpen

I don’t really have to relive this, right? Is everyone ok with tossing an F their way on moving on? The Tigers bullpen surrendered 4.35 runs per game in the regular season, good for 9th worst in the MLB and worst among playoff teams. Closer Joe Nathan (ex-Minnesota Twin, likely double-agent) was bad until the end of the season, when it hardly mattered. Joba Chamberlain was good until the end of the season, when it did matter. Al Alburquerque had an up-and-down year that ended mostly up, but some could say he was under-used. Phil Coke ended up not being the most hated pitcher in the bullpen, which counts as a win. Ian Krol was demoted to AAA periodically throughout the season, and the Fister trade is looking even worse than it did when we heard about it, if that’s possible.

The most interesting bullpen piece, to me, was Joakim Soria. Everyone ripped Ausmus for not using Soria in high-leverage situations, but, when he did, Soria imploded. He had a 6.00 WHIP and a 45.00 ERA (I didn’t bother to check his FIP) in the postseason, and couldn’t get an out when it mattered the most. Maybe, just maybe, Ausmus knew something that the fans didn’t. Other temporary bullpen plug-ins were mostly terrible, Blaine Hardy and Danny Worth being notable exceptions. Hopefully the return of Bruce Rondon and a mass overhaul of the bullpen will help for next year, but who knows? Bullpens are so volatile that the Tigers could hold pat and have the best one in the league this year. There’s no surefire fix.

Grade: F

Bench

If not for everyone’s favorite baseball god, Don Kelly, the bench would probably earn an F, too. Maybe that’s because I have the postseason fresh on my mind, but the Tigers had a noticeable lack of hitting and otherwise skill off the bench. Kelly, Carrera, Suarez and Bryan Holaday were mainstays on the pine, and none of them, Kelly excluded, strike fear into the eyes of opposing pitchers. And when Kelly does, he often calls time to take the pitcher for a walk to calm him down. Worth, Tyler Collins, Steven Moya and Hernan Perez all saw some semblance of time on the bench, but not enough to make any sort of impact. Depth is a serious issue for the Tigers, and it’s nigh impossible to win a World Series without it.

Grade: D-

Coaching

I’m not sure I should even address this one because every Joe at home thinks he’s better than the Brad in the dugout, but I’ve come this far so why not? The main focus here is Ausmus, although I would like to take a moment to rip on Dave Clark for his asinine call to wave Cabrera home with NOBODY OUT in Game 2. Cabrera never had a chance. The Tigers lost by one. Did I mention that there was nobody out?

Back to Ausmus. The fact of the matter is, the Tigers were better than 90 wins this season. No one denies that. Victor Martinez blamed the players and defended Ausmus following the Game 3 loss, but he certainly made some questionable decisions in key moments down the stretch. Bringing Chamberlain in to a chorus of cheers in Camden Yards in Game 2 was one such mistake. The man got rocked before, and had been getting rocked nearly the entire second half. The mentality of a setup man and a closer being set in stone in infuriating, but Ausmus and Jim Leyland seemed insistent upon it. Ausmus is a rookie manager and he will be cut some slack for that. It’s hard to call for his head already, though I can’t say I would disagree with the Tigers if they made the call to axe him. My only wish is that Leyland would have stayed a year longer so that the Tigers could have scooped up Ron Gardenhire. The only other ex-Minnesota Twin worth taking.

Grade: C-

Until next year. Eat Em Up!