The Tigers are 43-37 and that is the second worst record among the seven teams that own a piece of first place in their divisions. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks at 43-39 have a worst record with a least a piece of first place. And yes the Tigers are currently tied with the Cleveland Indians for first place in the American League Central.
There are not many answers in the splits either. The Tigers are 22-19 against teams with a winning record and 20-17 against team with a losing record. that seems to suggest this team just isn't all that good. The 2-9 record in extra inning games and 8-12 record in one run games suggest the Tigers have two big problems. The bullpen of course, and an offense that goers cold at exactly the wrong times. That is not an new issue. It is very hard to explain and the only logical thing seems to be that the team is to top heavy. The great player play great but the role players are not picking up any of the slack. The misguided loyalty of this organization to certain players is once again threatening to derail a season here the team was expected to contend for a World Series title.
The good:
- Max Scherzer- 12-0, 110.1 innings pitched, just 74 hits. This cat is unreal. he has started 16 games in 2013 and has 12 wins. Think about how good that is. Better than that the Tigers have only lost three of those 16 games he has started.
- Miguel Cabrera- pick a stat, pick a situation, and realize this is the best hitter of this generation and it is a little scary that he seems to be getting better.
- Omar Infante- hey he did have a four hit game today, and he entered today hitting .299 and he and Jhonny Peralta are two solid bottom of the order guys. This roster seems to need at least one if not two guys like that that can play adequate defense and produce at the plate.
The bad:
- Victor Martinez- It is sad to say, and even when we see flashes from time to time of the player he once was, but Victor is not getting it done in the five hole. It is an issue and he is hitting just .232 and one has to wonder how long Jim Leyalnd and Dave Dombrowski will ignore this issue,
- Phil Coke- This bullpen needs Coke to be something weather that is the left handed specialist of the 7th inning guy but he is having a hard time getting anyone out. His ERA in 24.1 innings pitched is 6.29 and that simply isn't good enough even if the bullpen was in better condition that it is.
- Take your pick on anything else. This team is in a slump and we knew that was gonna happen, even with all the expectations of this team this is still baseball and good teams find a way to play through sub par weeks like this.
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