Big Homestand Looms for the Detroit Tigers

The Tigers have a day off today after getting swept this weekend in New York by the Yankees.  Getting swept is never a good thing, but I think it helped show where the Tigers clearly need some help on: offense.  The offense has been roughly league-average this season, but if the Tigers want to make a serious push for a playoff spot, they probably need a bit more offense.

The Tigers' main competition can be found in Minnesota with the Twins and in Chicago with the White Sox.  The Twins just made a nice little move by signing 2B Mark Grudzielanek to help them out.  The Twins have gotten next to nothing from the second basemen this season and Grudzielanek can fall out of bed and hit .300 while playing good defense.  The White Sox are one of the teams rumored to be interested in pitching ace Roy Halladay.

Whether the Tigers make a move or not, this next week is big for them.  They will start with a three-game series at Comerica against the Seattle Mariners before inviting the White Sox in for a four-game weekend series.

The Tigers and the Mariners are very similar.  Both teams currently sport a .533 winning percentage.  More importantly, both clubs feature great starting pitching and suspect lineups.

The White Sox currently trail the Tigers by only 1.5 games in the AL Central and a four-game series should give us a pretty good feel for who is the better club.

The Tigers need to win this week.  A 4-3 record would be OK, but a 5-2 mark would be ideal.  If the Tigers falter and post a losing record this week, it will probably get the wheels really turning in the front office.  Things could get interesting.