Detroit Tigers Season Update: Tigers Win Game #4 at Toronto to Split Series

The Detroit Tigers get a split in the series at Toronto, winning game four  5-1 over the Blue Jays on another good pitching performance by Armando Galarraga for his second win of the season.
The Tigers got it started in the second inning when Miguel Cabrera walked and Jaque Jones was safe on an error by Jays' shortstop David Eckstein.

With still no one out,an RBI single by Edgar Renteria got the Tigers on the scoreboard 1-0. And then a two-run double by Ryan Raburn and later
a sacrifice fly by Brandon Inge put the score at 4-0 in favor of the Tigers.

 In the sixth inning, Edgar Renteria walloped his third homer of the year to make the score 5-0 Detroit.
The Blue Jays added their only run when Greg Zaun connected for a solo home run off of Tiger closer Todd Jones in the ninth.

 It was Zaun's first of the year. The Tigers went on to win 5-1. Jays' starter Shawn Marcum took the loss.

The Tigers now head back to Detroit for a three game match-up with the Rangers.

Tigers forecast: With injuries still plaguing the Tigers,the season thus far has been a tough one.
Curtis Granderson will be coming off of the disabled list sometime this week.

I look for him to be back with the club for the home stand against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Placido Polanco remains to be day-to-day with a lower back strain which has noticeably put a damper on his hitting so far.

Gary Sheffield is also day-to-day with his right shoulder enflamed. Tiger skipper Jim Leyland has kept him out of the line-up for the last two games.

Carlos Guillen has also been bothered by a hamstring which has Jim Leyland busy with an eraser in hand pencilling Guillen in at designated hitter,while Sheffield rests his shoulder.

With the bullpen still ailing without Fernando Rodney and fireballer Joel Zumaya,Leyland has been struggling to come up with a formula for victory with the remaining staff. 
Lately, I believe the bullpen has been doing much better with newcomers Aquilino Lopez,Clay Rapada and set-up man Denny Bautista.

The hitting still continues to struggle at times with Guillen,Renteria,and Cabrera being the most consistent on the club.
In the first three games at Toronto,out of twelve walks given up by Blue Jays pitching,the Tigers only managed to score one run with twenty-four men left on base.

That's not going to win you very many ball games.

Their inability to score with runners in scoring position continues to be a major factor in this seasons losing record.

With a .311 RISP in 2007, the Tigers were scoring early and often compared to this seasons lowly .170 RISP.       (runners in scoring position average)

With the Detroit Tigers record at 7 wins and 13 losses, it has left many analysts,sportswriters,fans, and myself wondering just what is going on in Detroit.

Closer look:

 Is the problem the bullpen? I think not.
With the new additions the bullpen has actually been okay and is not the problem everyone thought it was going to be .
Most analysts make the mistake of not knowing how deep the Tigers are in this category.
Sure ,they have been dipping in to the farm system a bit ,but only because they can. Clay Rapada since being called up has been very good out of the bullpen. Aquilino Lopez has also showed promise. Todd Jones, although still very scary at times will continue to record saves for this team as long as they can have a lead going into the ninth.

Let's face it, the real problem this team has is starting pitching. The ace of the staff Justin Verlander is still struggling to find his first win of the season. Jeremy Bonderman has had a couple of good starts,but can't seem to control his slider ,let alone trying to mix in a change-up effectively.

Kenny Rogers still can pitch well, but it seems to be on the day the hitting is non- existent.
Dontrelle Willis is on the DL now ,but he has never really shown us anything to begin with.
The trade for him was a bust ,but we did get Miguel Cabrera out of the deal,which I believe is going to turn out great.
Nate Robertson is struggling the worst out of all . He continues to be fine ,until the fourth inning where he usually gives up a ton of walks or a ton of hits.
No consistency. Ya gotta pitch thru six innings in the Major Leagues to get a quality start. So far for Nate ,it ain't really happenin.

Armando Galarraga has been the bright spot for the rotation ,getting two wins in his first two appearances,after taking the fifth spot in the rotation from the ailing Dontrelle Willis.

The scouting reports have been out on these guys for quite awhile. Is it catching up to them? Do the opposing hitters know what Bonderman ,Robertson,and Verlander are throwing? Of course they do.

 It's up to the coaches and the pitchers to develop continually. What has pitching coach Chuck Hernandez done? Does he even work with these guys? Of course he does.

 It is really up to these Major League pitchers to step it up and know who they are facing and get it done.

The Bottom Line:
The Tigers hitting will come around and really has been this week. The starting pitching will keep failing until somebody makes a move. Whether a trade, release or just sitting someone down for awhile.

Injuries will continue to be a factor while Leyland has been unable to field the projected powerhouse line-up we saw in spring training.

With Curtis Granderson back, we should see a lot more run production,however he will not be the savior for this team.
The key word here is TEAM. These players have to step it up a notch or two if they even think they will contend in the American League Central Division.

The bullpen will be better as they get more settled in with their roles.

The Tigers may turn it around but it will take a little time for them to get on track.
If they are not playing .500 ball by the All Star break ,stick a fork in them.
Maybe next year.
But as of today, I can see the Tigers possibly turning it around in a week or two as long as the pitching holds out.

I have been to or watched every single game this year and I can see the Tigers starting to gel . But without pitching its going to be a tough hall. At this point in the season though,The question mark still looms. The next couple of weeks should give us a better outlook on where GM Dave Dombrowski is headed.