By Justin Spiro
spirojus@GMail.com
February 22, 2015
The full complement of the Detroit Tigers roster just arrived in Lakeland, Florida.
The players will spend this first week shaking off rust. The Detroit media, however, is already in midseason form.
While it is understood that both players and fans tend to beam with optimism at this time of year, it is the duty of the media to maintain a reasonable perspective. To absolutely no one’s surprise, the Detroit media fails this test every spring.
The first week at Joker Marchant Stadium has yielded a barrage of sunny outlooks from a lapdog media that has little interest in rocking the boat. Let’s be frank, the media loves their annual month-long paid vacation in Florida. And that is exactly what Spring Training coverage is around here. Everyone down there is having a jolly good time.
Justin Verlander’s curveball is partying like it’s 2011.
Jose Iglesias is moving better than ever.
Steven Moya is crushing balls to Guantanamo Bay.
Shane Greene is confident and is an overall wonderful guy.
Joel Hanrahan cut a bullpen session short due to arm issues, but it’s not a setback because shut up that’s why.
The DSR obtained video coverage of the Tigers team bus driving to the practice field this morning:
Poor Tony Paul. He must be doing barrel rolls in his igloo reading this garbage.
The biggest issue the DSR has with the Detroit media is their unwillingness to challenge the teams they cover. At no time of year is this better on display than in February as the players descend on Lakeland to thunderous applause from an adoring media.
The basic function and purpose of a journalist is to serve as a watchdog. We are taught in journalism school to be skeptical of large corporations, and to question their operations when appropriate. It is important to have respect for our subjects, but we must not fear upsetting them with published truth. With few exceptions, these tenets never really took for most of the journalists in Detroit.
Take a look at just a small snippet of what the media has churned out these past few days:
Ausmus said Justin Verlander’s curveball is the best he’s seen since he faced him in 2006.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) February 22, 2015
Other things said about Greene around the mound pic.twitter.com/mRSxXzmOFA
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) February 21, 2015
After watching Shane Greene throw a bullpen today, Brad Ausmus said, “He’s kind of what we thought he was. He’s a guy with excellent stuff.”
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) February 21, 2015
The balls Moya is hitting are “making that Miggy noise,” batting practice pitcher Ed Hodge says.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) February 20, 2015
Love Wally Joyner. Asked him about working with Anthony Gose: “I think we still want him to hit left-handed. We’re gonna stay with that.”
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) February 21, 2015
Anibal Sanchez prepares to eat up some innings http://t.co/9TvijTgYfZ via @detroitnews
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) February 21, 2015
Happy recovery to Aileen Villarreal, of the Tigers media relations staff, who endured an emergency appendectomy this week. She’s doing great
— Lynn G. Henning (@Lynn_Henning) February 20, 2015
Tigers’ Alburquerque out to prove he’s ready to handle any and all situations http://t.co/CetfAOfpgf via @detroitnews
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) February 22, 2015
#Tigers Dombrowski on Verlander: It’s v. encouraging.It didn’t surprise me when I talked to him but it’s also still nice to see it yourself.
— Dana Wakiji (@FSDwakiji) February 22, 2015
Miguel Cabrera did some hitting the day after he was cleared. Texted Ausmus and told him he was pain free.
— Chris Iott (@Chris_Iott) February 22, 2015
Ausmus on Joe Nathan: He looked good, stuff looks crisp.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) February 22, 2015
Jose Iglesias is 100 percent, he said, but is only running at 85-90 percent intensity: “I don’t want to rush it.”
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) February 21, 2015
What you won’t find in any of these Twitter updates is skepticism regarding the bullpen. Or the very real concern that Anthony Gose probably can’t hit. Or that complications from appendectomies can occur weeks after surgery.
Of course, we probably shouldn’t expect anything else. It is the same stupid chorus every spring. These same “journalists” called us spoiled in the immediate wake of an embarrassing sweep in last year’s ALDS. We can’t really act surprised when we hear hyperbolic reports that make The Curious Case of Sidd Finch seem restrained in its praise.
Who else is looking forward to the 162-0 season?