SB Nation Detroit - Tigers' Victor Martinez Has "Good Chance" To Return This Season

Victor Martinez Injury Update: Tigers' DH Has "Good Chance" To Return By September

2012-05-02T03:01:37Z

When doctors revealed that Victor Martinez did not require full reconstructive surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament, it meant there was a possibility of him returning to the team by August or September. After all, the minor operation he had in January would only need about six months for recovery rather than a full year.

Martinez is finally off his crutches, was in the clubhouse on Monday and Tuesday, and doctors are saying that there's a "good chance" he could return to the lineup by September.

If Martinez does indeed return for the stretch run, imagine a lineup of Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder (who was signed under the impression Martinez would be out for the season), and Martinez heading into the playoffs. The Tigers offense is going to start clicking without Martinez, but once he's back, look out.

For more on Victor Martinez and the rest of the Detroit Tigers, head over to Bless You Boys. For more on Major League Baseball in general, check out Baseball Nation.

Victor Martinez Injury: Detroit Tigers DH May Return In August, September

2012-04-20T20:32:55Z

Detroit Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez opted for a minor healing procedure over full reconstructive surgery on his torn ACL, shortening his recovery time considerably and potentially allowing him to return this season. Via ESPN Baseball Analyst Jim Bowden:

Dave Dombrowski just told us that there is a possibility Victor Martinez could return to the Tigers in Aug/Sept based on latest medicals
— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) April 20, 2012

Martinez, 33, tore the ACL in his left knee in January during an offseason conditioning workout. Last season, Martinez hit .330 with 40 doubles and 12 home runs to go with 103 RBI.

Martinez underwent microfracture surgery on the same knee in January, with doctors also repairing his medial and lateral meniscus.

For more on Victor Martinez and the rest of the Detroit Tigers, head over to Bless You Boys. For more on Major League Baseball in general, check out Baseball Nation.

Victor Martinez Injury: Tigers DH Didn't Have ACL Reconstruction Surgery

2012-04-11T14:23:52Z

Detroit Tigers DH Victor Martinez was expected to have complete reconstructive surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament on April 4 after tearing it during offseason training in January.

As reported by MLive.com, the Tigers have announced that rather than opt for the full reconstructive surgery, the doctor on the case decided a week ago to do a more minor procedure to help with the healing of the ACL. Instead of keeping Martinez out for the entire season with a full surgery, this pushes back his recovery time to about seven months from January, meaning that Victor could potentially be back in business by August or September.

The Tigers have obviously been doing fine without him, currently standing as the only unbeaten team in the AL, but it's never a bad thing to know that your star hitter might not miss a complete season. Victor hit for a .330 average last season for the Tigers, slugging 103 RBI and 12 home runs.

For more on Victor Martinez and the rest of the Detroit Tigers, head over to Bless You Boys. For more on Major League Baseball in general, check out Baseball Nation.

Victor Martinez Injury Update: Tigers' DH To Have ACL Surgery On April 4

2012-03-04T20:45:15Z

Victor Martinez was a visitor in Lakeland today before the Tigers' Spring Training game against the Atlanta Braves (as was his seven-year-old son Victor Jose). Martinez was on crutches, of course, as he is recovering from January microfracture surgery on his injured left knee and awaiting surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament. According to the Detroit Free Press, Martinez will have that surgery on April 4, a day before the Tigers open their hopefully-memorable 2012 season against Boston.

While Martinez is down about not being able to be with the team this season, he's looking forward to not missing a beat when he rejoins the team in 2013:

Martinez, 33, is signed with the Tigers through 2014. He said he didn’t fear that at his age he’ll lose some of his ability because he must sit out a full season.
"I would be concerned if I was a guy who never worked," Martinez said. "I know I’m going to get back in and keep rolling with the team. I’m not even one percent concerned about it. I’m a guy who always works hard. If this is going to change anything, it’s going to make me work even harder."

For more on the Detroit Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Victor Martinez Undergoes Microfracture Surgery On Left Knee; ACL To Be Repaired In 6-8 Weeks

2012-01-30T18:00:31Z

Any Tigers fans who were holding out hope that Victor Martinez might be able to recover from his ACL tear in time to make a late-season contribution can move on to other dreams now.

Martinez underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee last Friday, according to several reports, with doctors also repairing his medial and lateral meniscus. The procedure to reconstruct that torn ACL won’t take place for another six to eight weeks. That effectively ends any chance — which was slim to begin with — of Martinez playing for the Tigers in 2012.

Of most concern is that Martinez’s knee injury was far more serious than originally diagnosed. The initial ACL tear that was thought to take him out for the season hasn’t even been repaired yet. The microfracture and meniscus repair procedures had to be done first.

Microfracture surgery has been a difficult procedure for many athletes to recover from. Carlos Guillen and Clete Thomas both took a full year to come back, and neither one has recovered to full strength as of yet.

In other sports, Chris Webber was never the same player after microfracture surgery. And while Amare Stoudamire has come back to be an effective player, he had to change his game as he was nowhere near the explosive dunker he used to be.

Fortunately for the Tigers, they don’t need Martinez to dunk a basketball during the final two years of his contract. However, with the kind of damage sustained to that left knee, it’s not unreasonable to question whether or not Martinez will be at full strength for spring training in 2013. But since there’s now no doubt that Martinez is out for 2012, he can get as much rest and rehabilitation as he needs without trying to push for a quicker comeback.

UPDATE: CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler reported that he's been told Martinez is expected to be ready for 2013, despite the microfracture surgery. In fact, Martinez's knee could be even stronger, as the procedure to repair the medial and lateral meniscus took care of wear and tear that had developed.

Prince Fielder Expected To Bat Fourth For Detroit Tigers

2012-01-26T21:25:48Z

The Detroit Tigers added another power hitter to the lineup this week when they signed Prince Fielder to a nine-year deal worth an estimated $214 million. That has caused a couple of good problems for Tigers manager Jim Leyland, however, as he has to decide which slugger should bat in the fourth spot in the batting order each game.

Leyland was non-committal on that earlier in the week, however, saying he wasn't sure how it was going to work out.

"Somebody asked me the question," Leyland said last Wednesday at Toledo Mud Hens Fandemonium. "Does this have an effect on Miguel Cabrera hitting third or fourth? Most likely, sure, it probably does. But I don't have the answer how it's going to work out just yet."

Leyland had a couple of days to think about it, though, and he's apparently decided on his lineup according to the transcript of Thursday afternoon's press conference provided by MLive.

2:40 p.m.: Leyland on Tigers' projected lineup: Jackson, leadoff; Boesch second; Cabrera, third; Fielder, fourth: Young, fifth; Avila, sixth; Peralta, seventh; Kelly-Dirks-Thomas, eighth; Raburn, ninth.

It would have been pretty difficult to make a mistake in this circumstance, but having Cabrera hit third, Fielder fourth and Delmon Young in the fifth spot is going to make things difficult on opposing pitching staffs.

For more on the Detroit Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Prince Fielder Officially Introduced In Press Conference, Tigers Don't Mind Slow Guys If They Can Hit

2012-01-26T20:05:39Z

The Detroit Tigers made the signing of Prince Fielder official on Thursday with a press conference, featuring the player, general manager Dave Dombrowski, manager Jim Leyland, owner Mike Ilitch and Fielder's agent, Scott Boras. MLive.com had some notes from the press conference, which shed some light on how the signing of Fielder came about and how it all went down. As expected, the talks didn't surface until Victor Martinez suffered an ACL injury and was set to miss the entirety of next season.

Owner Mike Ilitch expressed his desire to acquire Prince much sooner than, say, this offseason, saying that he had always wanted Prince since the draft, since they'd missed him by one spot. Also a fun note is the fact that the talks apparently began with Boras following a joke in which the the Tigers asked if Prince would be interested in a one-year deal.

One concern for the Tigers is the lack of team speed. All credit to Fielder and his hitting, but the man is not going to win any kind of footrace or agility skills competition any time soon. When talking about Miguel Cabrera shifting to third base, Leyland said he wasn't concerned at all, and then added his philosophy on "slow guys":

If they hit them where they're supposed to hit them, they can trot. I'd rather have a slow guy that can hit, instead of a fast guy that can't. We're not a manufacture-type team. Any good manager, the key is to manage the players you have.

Fielder also talks about the adjustment to the American League and the pressure of his contract. In regards to the former, he said "it's all baseball," and the latter, he's not really concerned with. He's set no statistical goal for himself.

Leyland insists there will be a lot of versatility with the DH spot, especially with little nagging injuries that go on during the season. In regards to Brandon Inge, he is apparently not the happiest of campers, but the Tigers appear to want to keep him and use him wherever they can. At any rate, he's a starter being used for depth, and it's hard to argue that it's a bad thing (at least from the team perspective).

According to the post from MLive, Dombrowski said that the Tigers didn't have any kind of secondary plan in free agency (regarding Martinez) that compared to the signing of Fielder, who he describes as entering the prime of his career.

For more on the Detroit Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation.

Prince Fielder Opens The Door To Fantasyland, Tigers Fans

2012-01-26T18:08:57Z

Signing Prince Fielder was a fantasy for Detroit Tigers fans. But with a $214 million contract, owner Mike Ilitch just brought rainbows and unicorns to Comerica Park.

It was the kind of suggestion that had Detroit Tigers bloggers (and presumably more reasonable commenters) slapping their heads and grinding their teeth.

"The Tigers should sign Prince Fielder and move Miguel Cabrera to third base!"

This was never going to happen. The Tigers were not going to shell out another $20 million per year salary to a third player on their roster, as much as some fans wanted them to. General manager Dave Dombrowski wouldn't even take such an idea to owner Mike Ilitch.

Yet Fielder was still out there as an unsigned free agent, waiting for a team to meet Scott Boras' contract terms. Once Victor Martinez tore the ACL in his left knee, the clamor only became louder. Since Fielder wasn't finding the eight-to-ten-year deal he wanted, several baseball reporters and analysts speculated that perhaps he'd be willing to take a one-year contract and try the market again after the 2012 season.

Some baseball bloggers completely dismissed such notions:

"Or for those Tigers fans living in fantasy land, maybe Dombrowski can check with Scott Boras and see if Prince Fielder really is willing to take a one-year deal and try the free agent market again next year."

Welcome to fantasy land, Detroit Tigers fans.

That giant beast in front of Comerica Park might as well be replaced with a unicorn. The archway at the main entrance could be changed into a rainbow.

Should we change the date of Christmas in Detroit to January 24, while we're at it?

For years to come, the day the Tigers shocked the baseball world by signing Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract will be when the sports scene in this city truly changed. It was the kind of happening that makes you think about where you were and what you were doing when you heard the big, really big news.

No more inferiority complex. The Tigers - and Detroit - are truly playing with the big boys now.

So much for a boring offseason in Tiger Town. In the span of one week, there's been more drama than any fanbase or media corps should be reasonably expected to handle.

After Martinez blew out his knee, the Tigers simply weren't as good of a team as they were last season. Yes, they could - and probably would - still win the AL Central. But the expectations are higher than that now. If Detroit couldn't beat the Texas Rangers in the ALCS with Martinez in the lineup, how could they do so without him? How well could they compete against the other American League powers like the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Angels?

Martinez's injury also served to highlight a disappointing offseason. While the Tigers did improve the bullpen by signing Octavio Dotel and trading Ryan Perry, and also insured against Alex Avila breaking down by the end of the season by bringing back Gerald Laird, the seemingly major holes at second and third base weren't upgraded. The starting rotation wasn't bolstered. And shouldn't left field probably have been addressed, as well?

Unfortunately, the free agent and trade markets didn't exactly work out as the Tigers had hoped.

The ideal fit for a second baseman really wasn't available, with the Braves deciding to keep Martin Prado. Aramis Ramirez was really the only third baseman worth pursuing, and his skills appear to be on the decline. Oakland A's GM Billy Beane wanted too much in exchange for pitcher Gio Gonzalez, as did Cubs GM Theo Epstein with Matt Garza.

Then there was Roy Oswalt, a veteran starting pitcher who only wanted to sign a one-year contract. Ideal for the Tigers, right? Except he reportedly didn't want to play in Detroit, which some fans are sure to see as a slap in the face.

All things considered, going into spring training with the current roster was looking more like the right decision for the Tigers. Why force a move for a player the team might not even need when several in-house (i.e., cheaper) options could be utilized? See if Duane Below, Adam Wilk, Andrew Oliver or even Jacob Turner could win that fifth starter job. What if the Ramon Santiago-Ryan Raburn platoon at second base and the Brandon Inge-Don Kelly pairing at third were suitable? Shouldn't the Tigers have taken those questions to midseason and then make whatever additions were necessary?

Obviously, losing Martinez changed everything. One of the Tigers' best hitters was done for the season. Miguel Cabrera's protection in the lineup was gone. Some tried to minimize the loss, rationalizing that Martinez wasn't as likely to produce as well as he did last year. Or that other players might be able to help fill the void. Furthermore, people who aren't doctors speculated as to whether Martinez could return by September, disregarding that such a recovery would be near-miraculous.

Unless the Tigers did something, it was easy to see them sliding a notch below the aforementioned power teams in the AL.

Who could the Tigers bring in to replace Martinez, at least as a one-year stopgap? Carlos Pena, a left-handed power bat who could get on base, seemed to be the people's choice. Plus, a return to Detroit would've been a nice story. But he returned to Tampa Bay. Vladimir Guerrero was another possibility, though he's aging fast. Casey Kotchman seemed like a good fit, but were his numbers with the Rays last year a fluke?

The best choice may have turned out to be a reunion with Johnny Damon. Though his first tour with the Tigers was a bit disappointing, especially in terms of power, the lineup had different needs. But even though Damon could get on base at the top of the order, he wouldn't solve the problem of protecting Cabrera in the lineup.

That clearly just wasn't acceptable to Ilitch. The Tigers owner didn't want to make the checkdown throw and play it safe. He wanted to launch it deep. And in doing so, the Tigers scored big-time. It may be the most surprising transaction ever made in the history of Detroit sports. Can you think of another one, besides perhaps the trade to get Cabrera?

Maybe it's not the ideal fit. Fielder playing first base and Cabrera moving over to third could make for some ugly infield play over the next few seasons. What about when Martinez comes back next year? What do the Tigers do then? And that's not even talking about the money, which amounts to the fourth-largest contract in baseball history.

But Ilitch obviously doesn't care about all that. Caution be damned. He must have been tired of hearing that the Tigers won't or can't spend like the Yankees and Red Sox. It's the move Tigers fans have been not-so-secretly wishing for.

If you're gonna go, go big. Like, really big.