Kaline’s Korner

        While there are still alot of questions surrounding the Tigers, I think within one week we answered one: What team seems most likely to win the A.L. East?   After sweeping the Yankees one week ago, and feeling like the bats may have gotten untracked, the Tigers are 1-6. In 5 of those losses, the Tigers scored 1, 1, 3, 0, 1 runs. The other loss was the Sunday game in Minnasota where they had one brilliant inning - the 1st, in which they scored 6 runs - then went silent.    They cut Jacque Jones, moved Sheffield into LF and swapped him with Guillen in the line-up.   Matt Joyce was called up, and in 3 games Joyce has gone 3-for-11 with 1 BB and 1 RBI. In his last 6 games, Cabrera is 3-for 23 with 3 BB and no RBI’s, its real simple as to why the Tigers are struggling. 

        The Tigers have had injury problems, have played musical chairs with their defense, and have had a bullpen full of names like Dolsi, Lopez, Beltran, Cruceta, Rapada - and newcomer Bautista, who joined the bullpen’s DL list.   In return, Detroit has faced some pretty decent RH’ed pitching: Meche, Bannister, Grienke, Vasquez, Floyd (twice), Matsuzaka (twice), Wakefield (twice), Beckett, Carmona, McGowan, A.J. Burnett, L. Hernandez, Ervin Santana, Weaver, and LH’ers Sabathia, Buehrle, and Pettitte. The bullpen pitchers they’ve seen like F-Rod, Nathan, Soria, Betancourt, Paplebon, Okajima, Jenks, and so on, have all feasted on the Tiger’s RH’ed struggling hitters.   But the hitters were to carry this Tiger’s team. They haven’t. They’ve had their moments. But that’s the operative word - moments. The Tigers swept Texas, Minnesota (2 games), and New York. But in turn they’ve been swept by Kansas City, Chicago, and Minnesota (in a payback). The Tigers started the season 0-6. They’ve floundered on deck ever since, playing .500 and are now 15-21.

        Their starting pitching is better than it was the first few weeks. And they are starting to settle in as a team a bit. But they are still in last place.   The Tigers are getting beat by 2-run HR’s on the pitching side of things (Boston hit 9 in the Monday-Thursday 4-game series, while the Tiger’s last HR was Granderson’s lead-off HR on Sunday in that 6-run 1st). And when the hitters are snoozing like they have been, those HR’s seem like tall mountains to climb. Their only win this week was a dramatic come-from-4-runs-ahead-twice-then-behind-in-the-9th wild 10-9 game.

        The good news on this May Friday in Detroit? The Tigers are nearing the end of their tough start out of the gate. Remember? After the Opener, the Tigers had to play 38 games in 40 days, much of them vs. the likes of all the A.L.’s best. And the shape the Tigers have been in, with the way they’ve been playing, was a way worse combination than I had ever anticipated.

        What’s next? The Yankees. With two LH’ers on the mound. FOX on Saturday. This is a little chance to right the ship. Then, after an off day for travel, they have one more final leg of the opening stretch of schedule - they head to Kansas City and then Arizona.   Tonight and this weekend would be the time to start bailing the water out of the boat. The Yankees want revenge. The Tigers want amends. It’s May 16th, Tigers. Time to rise and shine.