So the Tigers are about to lose their sixth straight game to start the 2008 season where many predicted that they would make the World Series. I will start off by saying that I haven’t had the opportunity to watch much of the Tigers season so far, but I can gather some information as to what may be causing their problems.
It’s interesting to hear the panic and the excuses that are making the rounds on the local sports talk radio stations. I actually heard someone blame Joel Zumaya for the Tigers’ problems even though he’s on the disabled list and won’t pitch until sometime mid-season. The caller blamed the Tigers’ problems on Zumaya getting hurt off the field, which I think is maybe the stupidest thing that has ever been said about sports, ever.
The biggest reason many people favored the Tigers this season was the huge offensive potential that their batting order provided. The only potential problem they had was a shaky bullpen and a couple of question marks with their starting pitching.
The first six games have been rough all around. The pitching has not been great, especially the middle relief. The offense has been really bad and the Tigers have struggled to put any runs on the board. One problem worries me and one doesn’t.
The Tigers’ bats will come alive soon enough. Unless they sustain some major injuries or lose Magglio Ordonez or Miguel Cabrera for the whole season I don’t see them continuing to struggle scoring runs. I am concerned about the pitching though. The bullpen is not going to be good, there’s no way to sugar coat it. The starting pitching also has to improve and they have to put in quality starts to minimize the amount that the bullpen is used.
I’m not happy that they’ve started the season 0 for 6, but I’m not writing them off either. They could easily win 20 of their next 25 and be right back in the thick of things. I just hope it gets better and not worse.
The Tigers made a huge deal yesterday that could potentially win them a World Series. They traded Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller (the Tigers’ two best young prospects) and four other players for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Cabrera and Willis are both proven, all-star caliber players and, when added to the existing lineup, makes the Tigers a major contender in the American League. They now have a very solid starting pitching rotation and a devastating batting lineup. The only hole you can find with the Tigers is their bullpen, which they also addressed yesterday by aquiring Danny Bautista. I only wish it was time for spring training already. I can’t wait.
So I sat down last night, as I usually do during the summer, to watch some Tiger’s baseball. Last night was the final game of a 4-game series against the hated New York Yankees, and it was a chance for the Tigers to win a series for the first time in nearly six weeks. I was feeling pretty good because the Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander was starting against Mike Mussina for the Yankees who is struggling through the worst slump of his career.
The game was awesome. Verlander was dealing from the very beginning, looking as good as when he threw a no-hitter earlier this season. He scattered 3 hits over 7 very strong innings and made many of the high-priced Yankees hitters look like Tampa Bay Devilrays players.
On the other side, the Tigers hitters blew up for 16 runs, including 6 in the bottom of the seventh. Brandon Inge had 3 doubles, 2 of which hit high on the outfield wall about six inches short of being home runs. It was very fun to watch the exasperated looks on the faces of the Yankees coaches and players. Joe Torre looked like he was going to be sick. I loved every minute of it.
It ends up that it’s the Yankees worst road loss ever and the second worst defeat in the storied history of the Yankees. I must give credit to Cassie for saying during the late innings of the game that it must be one of the worst losses for the Yankees ever. She called me at work this morning to let me know she was right.
Let’s hope this begins a big run for the Tigers who are playing a very easy schedule over the next few days.
All-Star balloting closes at the end of the day on Thursday. Three Detroit Tiger players are currently slated to start, and we need to keep it that way. Pudge Rodriguez is going for his 13th fan selection which would be a record for catchers, Placido Polanco is the best all-around second baseman in baseball, and Magglio Ordonez is having an MVP season batting .380. Unfortunately, fans don’t vote for pitchers but I think they’ll have at least one pitcher (Justin Verlander) if not two (Jeremy Bonderman). I also think that Verlander is the best candidate to start the All-Star game. If that happens, the Tigers would have 4 starters out of 9.
So go to http://mlb.com and vote for these deserving players right now!
So the Tigers managed to blow what was a very winnable World Series. I give credit to the Cardinals for taking advantage of all of the Tigers’ mistakes and winning their first championship since ‘82. But I think that anyone who looks at the series objectively cannot say that the Cardinals dominated the series and won it running away. The Tigers gave the series away with fielding errors and poor hitting.
I do think the Tigers will be back in the World Series in the next few years. What most fans around the country don’t see is the wealth of talented young players in the Tigers minor league system. They have 5 or 6 extremely talented young pitchers that haven’t really made it to the majors yet. They also have a very talented young outfielder named Cameron Maybin who is going to be a superstar someday for the Tigers. Plus I think they’re going to make some moves in the off season and trade one of their current pitchers for a power hitting first baseman. (I think it could be Mark Teixeira from the Texas Rangers.)
Congratulations to the Tigers on a great season and let’s hope this is the beginning of something great.