Detroit Tigers week in review: week 14

Baseball is a crazy game. Guys like me watch the games and try to use the numbers to explain what is going on with this team. However sometimes the numbers cannot explain anything...Sometimes this game makes no sense at all. The Tigers had a up and down week but after a Friday and Saturday drumming foe the former first place Cleveland Indians followed by another bullpen miscue yesterday and we have a week in which the Tigers did get themselves back into first place, but for some reason it feels like this team is still underachieving. Maybe that is not fair, but that is how the cookie is crumbling right now.

Over the last 10 games the Tigers are 6-4. The good news here is with the 2 wins in Cleveland they have improved their road record to 22-23. Of course at home they are nearly unbeatable unless they are playing the Los Angeles Angels. At Comerica Park they are 26-16. There overall record is 48-39, an while being in first place is good they have the second worst record among the 6 teams currently in first place.

The numbers get even more funky. The Tigers have scored 445 runs second most in baseball this season. There team batting average is .282 best in baseball, and their on base and slugging percentage rank second and third respectively. Yet it feels like this team is underachieving. Welcome to the wacky 2013 season with a team this good and with six all stars already just isn't good enough...I guess maybe the bar is high for this team after all.

The Good:

• Max Scherzer- 13-0, and unreal record and Max is looking to get paid. Maybe not next year even though he will be due a big raise over the nearly 7 million he is being paid for this year. It might have been better for Max to have this kinda year next year, but dude is still gonna get paid. 
• Justin Verlander- JV bounced back with a 3 hit 7 inning shutout in Toronto this week It was a performance that saw JV return to his dominant form from the last two seasons. It could be a rallying cry for a team that again seems to be underachieving. 
• Torii Hunter- Torrii hit a big Home Run to get the Tigers back into the game yesterday in Cleveland and has had a little slump this season but overall has been very effective in the two hole. In fact the first real second hitter the Tigers have had since Placido Polanco left town. 

The Bad:

• Alex Avila- one one hand he handles the staff well, on the other hand he has been hitting better since a stint on the DL and some rehab starts in Toledo, but he is still only hitting .178 for the season and .227 over the last seven games. Doesn't seem like that is good enough production at this level. Think about what this lineup would look like with a guy hitting .275 or so in the bottom three. 
• Doug Fister- Bad might be too strong a word for him, but he is very inconsistent. He is now 6-5 with an era over 4...not what we really expected out of big Doug this year. 
• Misplaced loyalty by the front office and the fans- We already saw what bringing back a guy that doesn't ahve it anymore can do to a club and Jeremy Bonderman was DFA's from the freaking Seattle Mariners enough with this misplaced loyalty to guys who are not all that great. Go out and fond clear upgrades and make the team better already. 

Related Links:

• Detroit Tigers news and notes
• Detroit Sports History examiner