10-15-13 Tigers and Atwater

Flashback

On October 13, 2012 the Detroit Tigers had a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the ninth against the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALCS. Jose Valverde's meltdown had been brewing for some time having struggled all season and already blowing one save in the playoffs [the Tigers lead the A's 3-1 in Game 4 of the ALDS and eventually lost when after Jose Valverde gave up three consecutive hits to the A's]. Valverde entered the bottom of the ninth of Game 1 of the ALCS and gave up two home runs. The Tigers eventually won in the twelfth but Jose Valverde was no longer the closer the for the Tigers.  The only thing that I really enjoyed while Valverde completely broke my heart was the Atwater Dirty Blonde I had in my hand at the time.

Papa Grande during his playoff meltdown

Buy or Sell

The Tigers Bullpen

I'm selling the Tigers bullpen, it was the downfall last year in the playoffs and I don't see it as being any other better. In Game 2 of the ALCS the bases were loaded with  2 outs and the Tigers had turned to their closer Joaquin Benoit to shut down the Red Sox. David Ortiz hit a grand slam off Benoit and nightmares of Jose Valverde's return came flooding into my head. For a second I thought it was 2012 all over again and Papa Grande was on the stage. Even after four relievers and Joaquin Benoit the Red Sox were able to tie the ALCS at one game each. The Tigers bullpen features AL Albuquerque Jose Veras, Jeremy Bonderman, and Phil Choke er I mean Coke. There's no arguing against the strength of the Tiger's starting rotation, their bullpen is a totally different story.  Albuquerque is the best pitcher in the bullpen with an era of 2.98, which is worrisome for the Tigers especially when Justin Verlander pitches scoreless innings but doesn't get any run support. I thought back in the spring that the Tigers should have made a move for Brian Wilson [he does have a career postseason era of 0.00], if the Dodgers don't sign Wilson to a long term deal the Tigers ought to or at least  try to get better relievers,  after all relievers have been [as of late] and are going to continue to be the kryptonite of the Tiger's, especially in the playoffs.

Phil Choke [I mean Coke]

Back to the beer

While Valverde caved under pressure in the playoffs, I did only what any other heartbroken Tiger's fan would have done-I drank. I sat on the couch drinking one of the last summer beers I could get my hands onto -Atwater's Dirty Blonde Ale. Atwater Dirty Blonde Ale was one of those ales that I remember being bland. It's like Atwater is trying to mass produce their beers and steer away from the true heart of craft brewing -beer taste. On my phone I keep a sort of journal to record my musings on different craft beers which I try, looking back on Atwater's Dirty Blonde this is what I had written down

Atwater's Dirty Blonde

[1] Clear yellow body

[2] Citrus smell

[3] It combines nicely and has a sweet aftertaste and finish

[4] A smooth and sort of creamy beer

Overall Dirty Blonde isn't that bad, but it isn't that great either. It's one of those beers that lies in the middle, it isn't as bad as mass produced beers but it feels like it lacks the handmade quality of good craft beers. It's one of those beers that I just find it hard to rave about.

History Lesson

 Atwater Brewing was founded in 1997 with the sole purpose of carrying on the rich history of breweries in Detroit [Stroh's anyone?]. Atwater uses a traditional style of German brewing operating on a Kasper Schultz brewing system. They bought the system itself from a company in Germany and use German malts and hops for their traditional style lagers while their specialty beers use American hops.

Atwater's current owner Mark Reith started investing in Atwater in 2002 and by 2005 he owned the company outright. With his ownership he brought a vision of producing the highest quality beers while putting Detroit back on the national brewery map [didn't I say something about Dirty Blonde Ale feeling more like a mass produced beer than a quality craft brew?].

Atwater currently produces 19 different beers, 8 are year round,  6 are seasonal and 5 are single batch series. The beers Atwater produces are as follows:

Year Round

[1] Atwater Dirty Blonde

[2] Atwater Vanilla Java Porter

[3] Atwater Decadent Dark Chocolate Ale

[4] Atwater Detroit Pale Ale

[5] Atwater D-Light

[6] Atwater Grand Circus IPA

[7] Atwater Purple Gang Pilsner

[8] Atwater Voodoo Vator

Seasonal

[9] Atwater Bloktober

[10] Atwater Cherry Stout

[11] Atwater Mai-Bock

[12] Atwater Summer Time Ale

[13] Atwater Traverse City Cherry Wheat

[14] Atwater Winter Bock

Single Back Series

[15] Atwater Conniption Fit

[16] Atwater Shaman's Porter

[17] Atwater Teufel Bock

[18] Atwater Uber Ursa Imperial Pils

[19] Atwater VJ Black

One Final Note

Atwater seems to be another big brewery that tries to mass produce its "crafts" and in doing so they lack in true quality of craft. The Tigers also lost a close on in Game 3 of the ACLS with Mike Napoli hitting a solo shot in the seventh. Thank goodness it's a seven game series otherwise I'd start to worry. I still think the Tigers have the stuff to go all the way to the World series [again] but I still strongly believe that their bullpen is going to be the reason that they don't win it all [unfortunately]. 

02-16-13

I wrote this post on February 16th, you can find the original post here, I still think the Tigers bullpen is the teams weakest point:

http://chinmusicdotme.wordpress.com/

Why the Tigers Should Free The Beard

The Detroit Tigers are preparing to open the season with Bruce Rondon as their closer. The Tigers already noted that they wouldn’t just hand him the role on a silver platter however, as noted earlier in the spring by GM Dave Dombronski. Throughout all of spring training he struggled and the Tigers even took him out for a week to work on his game. Rondon stand 6’3” and weighs 255, he just plain looks like he throws smoke and he does. He’s a right hander with a fastball that sits in the 98-102 mph range. He also has a change-up and slider in his repertoire but neither rare as affective as his heater.  The Tigers are hoping they have landed another Craig Kimbrel but Rondon lacks the nasty slider that Kimbrel has.

Jim Leyland has already noted that his other relievers (Dotel, Coke, Albuquerque, and Benoit) haven’t proven themselves as solid closers and it seems that this idea hasn’t changed yet. Late Spring rumors have suggested that the Tigers were shopping around for a closer but there is much for them to trade, Porcello doesn’t seem to be a good fit anywhere else at the moment. The fact of the matter stands that  the Tigers need someone who has experience in late innings. Two elite free agent closers still left are Jose Valverde [who because of his complete meltdown in the postseason has left him a free agent] which isn’t likely considering the Tigers released him. The second option is Fransico Rodriguez whom seems just as unlikely of a choice to be signed by the Tigers. There does remain another option in the free agency for the Tigers-Brian Wilson, yes Brian Wilson. Offering him a one year contract would give the Tigers minimal risk and huge reward potential. It would allow  Rondon to transition to the Majors and it would give Wilson the second opportunity he so badly wants.

Brian Wilson

Consider this:

Wilson is only 30, still young enough to come back from his second Tommy John surgery. He has a solid 3.21 career ERA and a stacked resume as a closer. During his 2008-2012 tenure as the closer for the Giants he was a 3-time All-Star, and was part of two World Series Championships. His career save percentage is 87.2% (171 of 196 save opportunities), that’s only 2% behind Mariano Rivera, arguably one of the greatest closers in MLB history.  It was rumored the Mets wanted off Wilson a minor league contract, but the Tigers would be smart to give him the trip to the show he wants.  Wilson was also consistently one of the top 10 closers during his tenure.

While Rondon may be the next Craig Kimbrel the Tigers need a closer who can make saves. In recent years they have had solid closers from Fernando Rodney to Jose Valverde, both of whom are elite closers. It’s hard to argue that Rondon won’t be an elite closer, but the Tigers need to #freethebeard and solidify an already championship caliber team, giving both parties what the need for not only the short term but arguably maybe even the long term.

03-26-13

I wrote this post on March 26th on a blog [I quickly gave up on] the link is here, it seemed like a good idea at the time:

http://chinmusicdotme.wordpress.com/

15 reasons the Tigers will win the World Series

I’ve spent my entire life as a Tigers fan. I grew up wearing a Cecil Fielder jersey. Through the ups and downs I’ve  rooted for them as much as I root for the ever struggling Lions. Even through the Fall of Jose Valverde I stayed on his bandwagon.

Even after being swept by the Giants in 4 last year’s World Series here are 15 reasons the Tigerswill win it all this season.

1. The Tigers have made back to back ACLS appearances, falling short in 2011 and winning in 2012. This was a first in franchise history2.  Since 2006 The Tigers have had 3 playoff appearances,  with 2 resulting in World Series appearances.

2.  At the all star break in 2012 the Tigers were 3 games under .500. Whenever the Tigers have trailed for the division lead at the break, they’ve gone on to make a playoff berth.

3.  Off-season acquisitions. The Tigers acquired OF Torii Hunter in the offseason, as well signed Anibal Sanchez to a 5 year/$80 million deal and catcher Brayan Pena to a one year deal.

4. Pitching.  The Tigers finished the 2012 ranked 3rd in the AL in pitching behind Tampa Bay and Oakland.  They posted an ERA of 3.75 and a batting average of .256.  The rotation has 5 strong pitchers in Verlander, Sanchez, Scherzer, Fister and Smyly.  While its rumored that Rick Porcello could be traded, he may have a break out year if the Tigers elect to not trade him.

5.  Justin Verlander. Since his MVP title in 2011 he leads the MLB in innings (489 1/3), wins (41), strikeouts (489), ERA+ (166), and opponent batting average (.205).  He is second only to Clayton Kershaw in ERA (2.52) and OPS (.578).  No pitcher works harder than Justin Verlander.  During the past 5 seasons no pitcher has made more starts (168) or averaged more pitches per start (112.6). Also his number of innings pitched (1203 1/3) ranks second only to CC Sabathia. A 2011 AL CY Young winner, he finished second in votes for 2012.  In 2012 he was ranked first (in the AL) in IP (238.1), SO (239), and CG (6). He was ranked second in ERA (2.64) and WHIP (1.06), 4th  in  W (17) his weakest ranking was 5th at W% (.680)

6. Victor Martinez. Even with the addition  of power hitting Prince Fielder in the lineup, the Tigers had a lower BA in 2012 (.268) then in 2011 (.277) when Martinez was in the lineup.

7. Torii Hunter. He replaces Delmon Young, let’s be fair though, Young has always played great against the Yankees, he even hit .313 with a .907 OPS last offseason. However, Hunter is clearly better overall. Last season he hit .313 with an .817 OPS. Far better than Young’s .267 and .707 OPS regular season stats. Young was generally in the lineup because he fared well against lefties, batting .308 with an .833 OPS,  7 home runs and 26 RBI. However, once again Hunter fares better against lefties, batting .340 with  an .868 OPS, 4 homers and 14 RBI. Not to mention on the field Hunter is a 4x all-star, has won 9 consecutive golden gloves and a silver slugger award.

8.  Closers. While the Tigers haven’t solidified the closer role, they have Coke, Rondon, Benoit and Albuquerque as strong relievers.  With Valverde no longer on the roster the Tigers should take a chance in giving someone like Brian Wilson a one year contract to strengthen arguably the weakest part of their roster. Rookie Rondon throws a fastball that sits in the upper 90s to lower 100s range, and arguably could become the next Craig Kimbrel if he were to strengthen one of his off speed pitches, not only in velocity but in its control

9.  Prince Fielder.  Of hitters who had at least a 10% walk rate, there were only 2 hitters in baseball that had a better walk rate than strikeout rate- Joe Mauer and Prince Fielder. He’s missed one game the last 4 years…ONE GAME. While it could be argued he is prone to some sort of injury, the man shows up to play. His .951 OPS in the past four seasons ranks 4th best in the majors.

10.  Miguel Cabrera. The first triple crown winner in 45 years. He’s had 9 straight years with at least 100 RBI. He’s a 7 time all star, and has placed in the top 5 for AL MVP votes in the last 4 seasons. He’s posted 30 home runs in at least 8 different seasons.  He also has a lifetime batting average of .318

11. Max Scherzer. He finished the season second in strikeouts in the AL (231) behind teammate Justin Verlander. He led the AL in strikeout rate (11.1 per 9 innings). He also finished the 2012 season with career high wins (16) and win percentage (.696).

12. Austin Jackson. In  2012 he won the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award,  he also finished the season ranked 5th in R (with 103). He had career high walk (10.9%0 and strikeout (career-low 21.7%) rates. He hit his first .300 season, drove in 103 runs scored and had a .377 on-base percentage.

13. All-stars: The Tigers sent 3 to the All -Star game last year and added Torri Hunter into the mix who is a 4 time all-star himself.

14.  Back to Back AL MVPs in Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera.  In the last 4 seasons both have been in the top 5 for AL MVP in votes.

15. Jim Leyland. As a manager he has 6 Pennants and 2 World Series Title. He also has been manager of the year 3 times.

The Dodgers and Golden Road Brewing Company

Flashback

Before I moved out to Los Angeles, I had [3 MAJOR] assumptions about the craft brewing industry. First, that Michigan, Oregon, and Colorado were the only states with a [booming] craft beer industry.  Secondly, Michigan was the leader in the craft brewing industry, that is the best craft beers and breweries are found in Michigan [Grand Rapids was voted Beer City US]. Lastly, Dogfish Brewing Company is more of a major beer company [like the Miller Brewing Company] and as a result they're REALLY overrated. Unlike the typical college student when I turned 21 I bought craft beers from [mostly any] Michigan craft brewery,  it wasn't my only section, after all cheap beers are best for parties, but during the week when I just had a beer or two I bought the best craft beers Michigan has to offer. Some of my favorites include the Michigan Brewing Company High Seas IPA [unfortunely MBC went broke/under when they rented out a bigger building and couldn't afford to make payments], Bell's Hopslam and Arbor Brewing Company's Sacred Cow IPA. I really enjoy beer that ACTUALLY has flavor and doesn't taste mostly like water. For those of you haven't already figured it out, I'm 1. a homer [I think Michigan has the best craft beers] and 2. I LOVE a good IPA. 

MBC's High Seas IPA, my all time favorite beer. 

The only picture I've taken in L.A. and I wasn't even driving. 

Fast forward to moving to L.A.

In September I moved out Los Angeles to continue my education [via graduate school, as a student of philosophy, get you're laughs and HA's out of the way now] and like anyone who just packs up and moves I was homeless and jobless.  For the better part of two weeks I followed the same routine with my friend and p.i.c. Sabin,  wake up and check out of the motel I was staying at [I was fortunate enough to not encounter any that had roaches], find the nearest Starbucks, and spend the entire day applying for jobs and drinking coffee [I stuck to the old fashioned stuff, specifically the dark roast, to keep costs at a minimum].

Once I finally acquired a [part time] job I did what most twenty something single guys would do- I celebrated at a local sports bar where I drank a [good, local craft] beer, and I watched the Dodgers play the Braves, and the Tigers play the A's. In that time a few things have changed, firstly the Dodgers are down 2 games to 0 against  the Cardinals in the NLCS and the Tigers and Red Sox are tied at one game apiece in the ACLS.

As I sat there enjoying my beer and fries I thought 3 things, [1] the Dodgers were going to go all the way [after all they have Grienke/Krenshaw and Wilson in their bullpen and let's not forget Hanley Ramirez] and [2] the best bet for the Tigers to go all the way was not to have to verse the Red Sox. Looking back I was only half right, the Tigers were better off facing the Pirates [the Red Sox pretty well swept us in the regular season outscoring the Tigers by a ridiculous amount]. Secondly, Kelly,/Wacha/Wainwright/Lynn will be too much for the Dodgers, or anyone at that matter, the Cardinals have all the right stuff to win it all, [even though I would LOVE the Tigers to ACTUALLY win this year]. The Cardinals are just a team that in recent years has the right stuff to go all the way.  Relying on Grienke/Krenshaw is going to be the downfall of the Dodgers, the Cardinals [and even the Tigers/Red Sox] have much more depth in their bullpen, sorry Brian Wilson, you went with the wrong team [signing with the Tigers would have gotten you to the WS].

With that being said here are my predictions, Cardinals in 5 for the NLCS, Red Sox in 6 for ALCS, and Cardinals win the WS in 6.  

Maybe Weezy and the Beard will get a ring next season. 

My third and final thought was that there's most to the craft brewing industry then I [arrogantly] assumed.

Back to the beer

As I sat in the bar drinking a local craft I came to a conclusion

[1] There's more to craft brews than just Michigan  breweries

and

[2] I need to get off my ass and try as many as I can in the entire country.

So, begins my journey to combine sports and craft beer, the two things I love most. What would better fit than of this combination than to talk about the L.A. IPA I drank in L.A. as I watched an L.A. based team [the Dodgers, of course].  Without further delay, onto the beer!

While the Dodgers slammed the Braves I slammed down Golden Road's Point The Way IPA. I had a couple [I don't remember the exact number...], but here are my thoughts:

[1] I've never had an IPA out of a can before, so that instantly intrigued me, I'm one of those people that thinks beer is best served out of a glass bottle and at room temperature.

[2] I poured it into a glass and it came out a golden color with a generous foam, which I thought was kind of good for an IPA, I prefer the darker hop-ier IPA's  

[3] It had a good balance of hops and malt, with a pine and citrus smell

[4] I thought of it more than a pale ale than an IPA [just my two cents, so take it for what it's worth].  

[5] I'm more of a hop bomb person but none the less this was still a decent beer.

Golden Road's Point the Way IPA

Now for a history lesson

In 2011 Tony Yanow and Meg Gill founded Golden Road Brewing Company. Both Tony and Meg had experience in the beer industry before starting Golden Road, Tony with Tony's Darts Away and Mohawk Restaurant, while Meg was with Oskar Blues Brewery and Speakeasy Lagers and Ales. Golden Road came about when Tony consulted with Meg for the top craft brews in California to put on tap in Tony's Darts Away. Soon he realized that he shared a similar interest in with Meg in bringing brews as individual, as energetic and vibrant as L.A.

It was while tasting a beer at Zeitgeist in San Francisco that the vision for Golden Road was born. Together they chose to delivered beers as unique as L.A. using an eco-friendly brewery. After all can's are better for beer, better for the environment and you can take a can more places than a glass bottle.

When Golden Road was founded just two years ago it was the first craft brewery in L.A. to package and distribute beers [there are plenty of in-house breweries here, as I've traveled around the city I've been able to spot them]. Now just two years later Golden Road is making beers that are award winning and getting attention at beer festivals. 

Currently Golden Road Brewing has 17  total beers [5] anytime beers [2] custom IPA and [10] Limited Releases, they goes as follows:

ANYTIME BEERS

1.Cabrillo Kolsch

2.Get Up Offa That Brown

3. Golden Road Hefeweizen

4.Point The Way IPA

5.Wolf Among Weeds

CUSTOM IPA

6.Burning Bush Smoked IPA

7. Heal the Bay IPA

LIMITED RELEASE

8.Almond Milk Stout

9. Aunt Sally's Pale Ale

10. Citrus Blend

11. Darts Away IPA

12. El Hefe Anejo

13. Emil's Special Beer

14. Golden Road Berliner Weisse

15. Hudson Porter

16. It's Not Always Sunny in LA

17. Schwartz Stout

 A final note

There are big "craft breweries" spread across the country such as Dogfish Brewing and New Belgium Brewing, it's my honest opinion that these aren't craft brewing companies anymore, for me a craft brewery is one that serves at either a [1]  local [city, county, etc.] level, [2] a state level or a [3] a region level [like the Midwest]. Anything further than that ceases to be more than a craft brewery.  As I finish writing this the Dodgers are down 2 games to 1, Grienke and Krenshaw BOTH got loses in the NCLS while Adam Wainwright couldn't get the W even with his nasty curve. The Red Sox are up 2 to nil and some Tigers fans [myself included] are having nightmares of Papa Grande's return after Benoit gave up a grand slam to David Ortiz and well there's plenty of good handmade craft beer that needs to be consumed.  Also [just my opinion] but I think Brian Wilson has shown that he is a quality pitcher no matter what and he gets a long term deal somewhere, just don't be surprised if its not in L.A. He wants to pitch at the best place possible and for the most money, he's more than proven he's worth the money.