Detroit Tigers week in review: week 19

Well that was not the best week for the 2013 Detroit Tigers. It is a little hard to fathom that they lost to the Kansas City Royals twice in one day when Justin Verlander started one of those games and pitched well but once again during much of last week the offense went cold. Why this lineup remains so streaky is beyond me, but it add a lot of drama to games and whenever Miguel Cabrera comes up to bat something special is about to happen. However, he is only one of nine and it seems that the other eight are somehow coming up a little bit short during different stretches. The good news is the team did rebound and win the series, their fifth consecutive series win at home, and still lead the Cleveland Indians by a full 7 games.

As always we look for answer in the splits and even though the Tigers went 5-5 over their last 10 the splits look very good. their overall record is 73-51 and that is more in line with the other teams that are leading their divisions currently. They are 40-21 at home and 33-30 on the road. This is still a very good baseball team, they just need to figure out how the offense goes so cold for such long stretches than instantly comes back to life. If they can figure that out they look virtually unstoppable.

The good:

• Max Scherzer- Mad Max has become automatic Max. 18-1 is an unreal number. Back that record up with a team best 185 strike outs and a 2.82 ERA and there is little doubt he is the American League fave to win the Cy Young award. 
• Jose Iglesisas- How good is this kid? Talk about the human highlight reel. He is batting .268 but his value and the fun in watching him is all when he has the glove on. He might go down as the best mid season acquisition by GM Dave Dombrowski. 
• Joaquin Benoit- 16 saves, 11 holds and a 1.57 ERA. I am not exactly sure why he wasn't given the closers role back in spring training but hey that is a decision that will get overlooked if the Tigers perform the way we expect them too. 

The bad:

For one week we are gonna suspend the bad awards for individuals and just say that 5-5 record over the last 10 against the level of competition this team faced last week isn't acceptable. Why this offense allows itself to get shut down is beyond me, and the only answer I have is the lack of vocal leaders in the Tigers' clubhouse. There is not a guy who can fire this team and that has been an issue for much of the last two seasons. We saw it last year in the World Series and if they are serious bout taking the next step it is an issue that needs to be addressed. 

Related Links:

• Detroit Tigers news and notes
• Detroit Sports history examiner