2-10 after two full weeks of the regular season. Not really the position that many of Tigers fans would expect, nor be happy with, in realizing the reality of it. However, it is what it is and now we will see what this team is really made of. After winning the first game of their weekend series with the White Sox, a game in which we saw Dontrelle Willis jam his leg and inevitably end up on the Disabled List and one that after tossing 14 pitches, you would expect the bullpen to have a simple time of imploding upon actually came out and won the game for the Tigers. They followed up that step in the right direction by not scoring another run the rest of the season.
I agree Dontrelle, it’s been a pretty ugly start!
How does a team with that line-up get shutout four times, FOUR TIMES In a dozen games? It just doesn’t add up folks. A team that last year was held scoreless three times all year has played 4 series total and has been unable to put up a run in 25% of their games? What is going on there? It would be crazy to think that everyone in that line-up is going to be running on all cylinders at the same time and knocking in 10, 12 runs a game day in and day out. However, any baseball watcher, or self-proclaimed pundit of the game would also say that they should be able to hit the ball, move players along the base path and have the ability to come up with some clutch hits. To this point; however, it seems as if we are all being proven very wrong. Ultimately, the Tigers struggles at the plate have probably made the pitchers try a little too hard, which may interpret their early season struggles. With Jeremy Bonderman their only starter with a 1 under their win column, midway through their 3rd trip of their rotation needless to say, it’s not just the ‘pen not doing their job. They have started to make a few moves needed to improve their shaky bullpen, mind you they aren’t mind-blowing moves, but you can just start to see the sweat starting to build up on the forehead of Jimmy Leyland and Dave Dombrowski can’t you? It is a certainty that these kind of knee jerk reactions are signs that the Tigers realize that they are missing a lot of opportunities by showing immense patience through their early season falter. For instance, they sent down a struggling Yorman Bazardo, whom has given up 1000 runs in 3 innings of work (actually, his line isn’t THAT bad, but it is bad at 3 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 5 BB, YIKES!) and called up lefty, Clay Rapada, who pitched well in his two innings of relief in the Tigers 11-0 drubbing on Sunday afternoon. They also made a move in signing free agent Casey Fossum, who has struggled mightily in most of his brief auditions with any other team. Desperate? Perhaps, but what they are looking for is a leader, or someone that decides to step up and take the bull by the horns. Fossum has been used mostly as a starter, but was released by Tampa after a less than stellar 2007 season that saw him go 5-8 with a 7.70 ERA. I am assuming that they are probably looking for some depth, and perhaps a guy that can go in the ‘pen for some long relief, and maybe the occasional spot start. But a savior is not going to be something that Tigers fans can mention within the same sentence as Casey Fossum.
I need a HERO!!!
Needless to say, writing a blog about the failures of this team is wearing thin on this Tigers fan. Fortunately, there is only one way to go and that is up. I try to look at it this way with a sentiment of optimism: If the Tigers were 10-2 after a dozen games, it would be just as ridiculous to proclaim them as the World Series Champions. The Major League Baseball is a marathon of a season and not a sprint. So, with the opposite record, sitting at 2-10, I am extremely confident that they aren’t the worst team in the league, I just wish that they would stop playing like it.
