To echo my last weekly update, rough does not come close to comparing whatever the Tigers put on the field this week. They went 2-4 against the Indians and Pirates. The offense continued to just be dead, and I have a hard time believing it all has to do with Austin missing for these 6 games. Instead of pulling closer to the Indians in the division they continue to dig themselves into a deeper hole.
Of course the week started with one of the best pitching performances you will ever see. Justin was one weak base hit away from his 3rd no-hitter, and the offense came to life in scoring 6 runs on a Verlander start. Then in the remaining 5 games the offense combined for 13 runs. The starting pitching had 6 decent starts (4 quality starts), and the bullpen actually pitched closer to average than we have seen in a while. The terrible defense continued to show its face and the complete lack of offense just keeps frustrating me beyond anything else. Before the season we knew our infield defense would be below average, so as much as stupid errors are tough to watch they are pretty much performing how we expected. This team was built for one thing, to score runs… lots of runs, and through 44 games the random assortment of the Cleveland Indians lineup is outscoring the star-laden Tigers. Everybody is struggling at the plate right now. Miguel is getting useless singles with 2 outs, Prince is swinging at anything, and the bottom of the order can double their average and still barely be hitting their weight.
I will admit right here on May 24th that maybe my expectations for this team were just too high. I expected Avila to be the hitting catcher of 2011 not 2010, and so far his 2010 campaign is looking pretty good right now. Peralta had a career year last season, and it was unfair to expect him to do that again. Raburn’s hot spring gave me hope his first half woes would finally go away, but how wrong I was. I feel like most pitchers just physically do not have the stuff to get Miguel out on a normal basis, but he has had some of the worst at bats that I have ever seen from him to start this season. Both Prince and Miggy are walking half as much as they did just a year ago (yes that could be because both were intentionally walked a lot, and pitchers cannot offer free bases to back to back hitters), but Prince normally walks more than he strikes out. This year he has fanned 31 times, and has walked only 15. Austin Jackson is the only player right now that is exceeding everyones off season expectations, and guess what, he is injured with no time table to return. Could it be that this team just is not that good? What would happen if the Tigers don’t win the Central, don’t make the playoffs, or don’t win 81 games?
On the pitching front, Justin Verlander continues to be special, but even today with his average stuff gave up 2 runs. That sounds like a great start, but he got the loss. Yes, he is the best pitcher in baseball, but so was King Felix a few years ago when he won the Cy Young with a 13-12 record. Verlander cannot continue to be expected to pitch 8-9 innings of 1 run baseball. That makes every inning a pressure environment which will wear him down faster. Verlander should really not have a loss right now and be closer to 8-0 than 5-2. When is Porcello and Scherzer going to become consistent, because if it isn’t soon then they both should offer some good trade value (possibly for David Price which Tampa has been rumored to be shopping). We cannot expect Smyly to continue his surprising start all season, which will mean Rick or Max has to step up and roll off 5 good starts in a row or 8 of 10. Yes, Max just struck out 15 and it was very impressive, but what will he do on Friday? Fister has been given some bad luck as well after he has come back from the DL.
I know that there is over 100 games left of this season, but from what I have seen in the first 44 I do not like what I see. The Tigers are just not playing good baseball, and they are really tough to watch with the lack of hitting and defense. I hope they can turn it around and go on a winning streak, but I guess I would take back to back wins again.
Looking forward, the Tigers continue their weak May schedule which will likely mean 2 more losses in Minneapolis even though this is a series that they could sweep without much effort. Can Smyly bounce back from 2 average starts in a row? Can Scherzer follow up his 15K start with just a quality start? Can the offense score more than 2 runs per game against the little league pitching staff that makes up the Twins rotation? Following up the trip to Minnesota, the Tigers head to Fenway for a 4 game series in Boston. I will be present for the series opener, but at this point I have to be honest… I am not super excited to see the offense get shut down live. It will be a tough game to sit through if Fister gives up 2 runs and gets hit with the loss. Oh well, at least Red Sox fans are friendly, right? Guess not.
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