Detroit Tigers: A Puzzling Season

Before the 2008 campaign started, Motown fans had high hopes for our Tigers. Even when Curtis Granderson went on the DL with a broken finger, missing the first month of the season, no one predicted a 0-7 start. Granderson is the sparkplug for the offense ─ as goes Granderson, so go the Tigers. When he returned, our offense perked up, for a time, but now Curtis is batting in the mid-.200s, and he hasn’t yet been able to adjust to the pitchers who are now, instead of busting him inside, pitching him away. Still, watching him play center field is worth the price of admission.

When April ended with Granderson’s return I expected it would be only a matter of time before the offense caught fire. No one in the Central was running away from anyone, but now it’s June, the Tigers are a full 10 games back of Chicago, ahead of only Kansas City by a mere half-game, and I’m beginning to wonder not so much when they will catch fire, but if.

On paper, this Tigers team is one of the best in baseball; but games aren’t played on paper. Certainly they have more talent than they did two years ago when they made it to the fall classic. Yet something is missing, the magic is gone. Perhaps they paid too much heed to the preseason hype that they were the team to beat in the Central Division. Maybe Leyland’s tinkering with positional players is affecting plate appearances: Guillen and Cabrera have traded corners, Cabrera certainly adjusting better at first than Guillen ever did. Last night I saw Guillen in left field. Yet that doesn’t explain Polanco’s struggles at the plate. Even though he’s pulled his batting average up to .279, he’s a far cry from the hitting machine that could be depended on the last two years to advance or score runners from second base.

And pitching was supposed to be a strength. Truth be told, I’ve always felt our starters overrated. Robertson, who I like, has average stuff and pitches mostly with heart. Verlander certainly has pitched better than his 1-9 record shows despite a high era; in seven of his losses the offense has scored one or no runs. With a little support from his batting mates he could easily be at .500. Kenny Rogers has managed to even his record at 4-4, but he must reinvent himself each time he takes the mound. Perhaps the biggest puzzle on the starting staff is Jeremy Bonderman. At 25 years old, he is supposed to be the ace of the staff. After having his shoulder examined the other day, it is likely he will be put on the DL for a circulation problem in his shoulder, opening the door for Dontrelle Willis, who not long ago came off the DL. But Bonderman’s woes go back to last season, with his 6.+ era in the first inning alone. Consistency seems to be Bonderman’s worst enemy. At times he looks solid, sometimes nearly brilliant, but he can’t go six, seven or eight innings without giving up at least one big inning.

The bullpen started slow but gained momentum in May; yet the starters must get deeper into games or the bullpen will have nothing left come August and September. But by then it may not matter.

As a side note, it was interesting to see who the Tigers drafted the other day. I’m a proponent of taking the best available player rather than filling a specific need with a questionable prospect, but the Tigers took five pitchers through the first six rounds ─ which leaves me wondering how management feels about their current staff (although pitching, always a commodity in the big leagues, can be used as fodder for trades).

Right-hander Ryan Perry was their first pick. At 6’ 4” and 200 pounds, Perry has a high 90’s fastball, a change up and a slider. He’s pitched out of the pen, but it’ll be interesting to see if the Tigers try to make a starter out of him. If they sign him, look for Perry to appear with the big club later this season, probably out of the pen.

Detroit took Cody Satterwhite in the second round. Another right-hander, Satterwhite is a junior in college; at 6’ 4”, he purportedly has great stuff but needs to work on consistency with his slider.

Scott Green was Detroit’s third pick. Another right-hander, at 6’ 7” Green has a low-90’s fastball and a sub-par change. Oh, yes, he’s also had Tommy John surgery on his shoulder.

Brett Jacobson was taken in the fourth round, another big right-hander. At 6’ 6”, he has a mediocre fastball but supposedly a good curve ball and great deception.

Detroittook Tyler Stohr as their sixth pick, another right-hander who struggles as a starter but has had some success in relief.

Oh, and the fifth pick was Alexander Avila, a catcher whom the Tigers think can hit with power. Avila is the son of Tiger’s vice president and assistant GM.

Curious picks, in my mind. Are they building for the future, or is a shakeup likely should they finish 20 games under .500 and in last place in the Central? Only time will tell. Until then, what had started as a season of promise continues to deteriorate.