Friday, May 25, 2012

Underachievers

In preparation for this entry, I've been reading a few articles on what the reaction is to the decidely unimpressive ball that the Detroit Tigers have been playing lately. After a 10-3 start, they have gone 10-21 since then. They just concluded getting swept by the division-leading Cleveland Indians, and are now six games back and four games under .500.

I see there are cries at firing manager Jim Leyland, hitting instructor Lloyd McClendon, or even GM Dave Dombroski. I won't vouch for McClendon, but as to the other two: what are these people smoking?

As fans are wont to do, these fans have short memories. It was a year ago that the Tigers, after getting swept by the Indians, were also six back. But summer came and the Tigers got hot, leaving everyone else in the division in their trail. Now, lightning doesn't necessarily strike twice, but there is a lot of reasons to be hopeful. They ended up beating the Indians ten straight.

For one, the pitching is solid. Justin Verlander hasn't lost a step. He took a no-hitter into the ninth against Pittsburgh last week and lost a tough 2-1 decision yesterday. Doug Fister has come off the DL and had some hard luck, but looks sharp, and rookie Drew Smyly is giving the Tigers more than they could have hoped for. Max Scherzer has been inconsistent, but did strike out 15 last Sunday. Rick Porcello has also been inconsistent, but if he keeps his pitches down he's fantastic.

The bullpen has also been a problem. Jose Valverde isn't as reliable as he could be, and neither has Joaquin Benoit. Leyland has been criticized for taking pitchers out too soon, but I'll trust the guy who has managed for over twenty years than the fan in the stands.

What the Tigers have had trouble doing is hitting, which of course is what no one would have guessed. More accurately, it's been timely hitting. During the Cleveland series, they scored only two runs a game but left a total of 30 on base. The big-time hitters are getting numbers you'd expect, if a little on the low side: Miguel Cabrera has 8 homers and 35 RBI, while hitting .305, while Prince Fielder has 7 taters (low for him), 25 and .286. Alex Avila, Jhonny Peralta and Brennan Boesch are all hitting below .250, and Ryan Raburn has gotten off to a horrible start, hitting only .144.

The Tigers' most reliable hitter has been the lead-off man, Austin Jackson, who has shortened his swing and is batting .331, with 5 homers and 17 RBI. Of course, he just went on the disabled list.

It's too early to give up yet. The AL Central is not a hotbed of great teams, and if the pitching stays strong the bats are bound to get hot. But here's hoping they don't fall too much more behind.

On the plus side, the Tigers are now winning over Minnesota, 7-3, in the sixth. Hold on!