another day another loss to an also ran.. and not to be out done, as soon as the Indians see that the Tigers lose, they rally and win their game to push them back to 7 games and basically eliminate last years American League Chumpians from a division crown. It's not to late to still win the wild card, but who are we foolin?? This team is not going to win anything with auto-outs and ralley killers inge and pudge and inconsistent Bondy, Nate and Grilli...

Jim Leyland leaves the pitchers in to long when they are struggling and pulls them to soon when they are not. His lineups are out of synch and he plays the percentages to much and is to conservative to get this team on a roll, so time to put them to rest and cheer on the Lions and Shock.

Tigers

I think we should just stop complaining and adjust our expectations. This team is not as good as everyone thought. They had a great season last year and blew their chance to win it all. Now they are back to the reality. They should be better than average for the forseeable future because their pitching is still better than a lot of teams, but the question remains whether they can compete for the 'ship.

We're still better than the Cubs, and they're leading their division.

Kenny Rogers' absence this year for us has been tough.

I disagree that the Tiger's pitching is still better than a lot of teams. In fact, the Tiger's pitching staff is ranked 11th in the AL in terms of runs allowed, out of 14 AL teams.

The Tigers need to seriously address their pitching woes through free agency, in the off-season. They also need a defensive minded shortstop, so that they can move Guillen to first, so that they can dump Casey.

If the Tigers sign a couple of free agent pichers, and shore-up their defense, they should be right back into contention next year.

Look at who they had pitching this year. We had starters pitching below their abilities (see Bondo and Robertson with ERA going up by more than 1 run comparatively to the last year), we had injuries. That made Tigers throw out there inexperienced rookies, overworked the bullpen and inflated bullpen ERA as well. I wouldn't say the pitching has no holes, but which team claims to have it all worked out?
They also have a defensive-minded shortstop in Santiago. The issue is that he can't hit worth a lick (career .220 with no power). I am not sure who is out there that the Tigs can get, but they surely don't have much trading power anymore. They have to find a catcher who can step in in a year with Pudge clearly on the downward slope. They need a lefty with some pop. I also think that someone other than Grandy has to lead off, he needs to hit with someone on base. Definitely there are issues that need to be addressed, the problem is that the resources are limited and payroll is already high.

__________________
I think the Washington Wizards have got to be the dumbest team in the history of civilization. - C.Barkley

You make many good points. I agree that Granderson should not leadoff. He strikes out a lot, yet he has decent power. IMO, he would be much better utilized hitting 3rd, followed by Sheffield, Ordonez and Guillen. What's wrong with Palanco as the leadoff hitter?

On Santiago...I never minded a light hitting shortstop, as long as he could field. Remember Eddy Brinkman?

But what the Tigers really need is an established veteran starting pitcher to lead the staff, the way Kenny Rogers did last year. It just takes a lot of pressure off the young kids. Hopefully, Rogers can come back to be productive next year, but I think it's unrealistic to think he'll ever be the ace of the staff again at age 43.

The Tigers also need to get rid of Todd Jones!!! Who ever heard of a closer with an ERA over 4.50? Jones sucks!!!

I wouldn't mind bringing back I-Rod for much less money. Ever since he gave up the 'roids, his offense has been on the decline. Nevertheless, he's still an excellent defensive catcher, and handles pitchers superbly.

In short, what the Tigers need is a veteran starter to lead the rotation, and a decent closer.

Come on Illich...if you can throw $14 million at Sheff, you can spend some bucks on some pitching.

Yeah where is Willie Herndandez when you need him???


We all remember the unsung hero of the Bless you Boys championship as he mastered the screwball in '84 and baffled American League batters on his way to the Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards. He converted 32 of 33 save opportunities and posted a stingy 1.92 ERA

It is possible that Zoom or Rodney will take over the closer role if Tigs can't sign a free agent.

Willie Hernandez was untouchable in 84. And does anyone remember John Hiller? He turned into one of the Tigers' best stoppers of all time, after suffering a heart attack.



Here's an excellent article on Granderson, which points out much of what we've already discussed. Granderson is 4th in the AL in strikeouts.

ESPN - Kurkjian: Granderson's odd statistical season - MLB

Tigs should try to pry Joe Nathan from Minni.