In throwing out my last blog, I realized that I only touched on the surface of the locker room antics that have apparently shaken up the Tigers at the core.  I would feel as if I weren’t doing it justice I didn’t toss in my own two cents worth on this topic.

I am referencing the intense response of Tigers skipper when questioned by the media after several players (including former Tiger pitcher Jason Grilli, current back-up Brandon Inge) charred off to the media about what could be going wrong in Tiger-Town.
The villain in this play, relief pitcher Jason Grilli was asked what he thinks the possible problem could be in Detroit and why they have struggled out of the gate this year.

Grilli, prior to falling out of favour in D-Town

Grilli candidly suggested that they are a team that isn’t quite “feeling it” in the locker room.  There is no chemistry, which is only magnified by the loss of a guy like “The Mayor” Sean Casey, (aka, the worlds’ slowest…er 2nd only to Bengie Molina baserunner) as well as not having Inge playing at third on an everyday basis.  Reason being, is that the guys know that Brandon would go through a brick wall for anyone, and they trust, defend and support his glove that much.

       VS. 
I wouldn’t want to have to watch who hits the finish line first in that race!

It is for these reasons, that Grilli believes the Tigers have been slow off the hop.  He didn’t stop there though.  He continued on to suggest (wait a second…what I should I say, had the nerve to suggest) that this really affected him when he was on the mound, which may have contributed to his lack of success which led to his inability to pitch.

Jason Grilli’s Trading Card for the 2007 Season…’Nuff Said!

Inge took the reins and attempted to compare this years’ squad to the ’06 World Series losing roster.  He painted a vivid picture about how the ‘06 team took pleasure in knocking off the high-payroll type teams, adding that they were able to get up for big series’ such as that.
This years’ roster have now become one of those high-payroll super line-ups, and since becoming one of the payroll haves, they have become one of the teams that they used to beat; drawing a parallel that the have-nots are able to get up for a big game against them.  They are ultimately having it more and more difficult to get up for such a feat.

Carlos Guillen chimed in with a gem, suggesting that perhaps the pre-season expectations were a little too lofty.  Somewhat whining that perhaps the pressure has mounted to the point where they feel that no matter how well they do, they won’t be able to meet such ballooned expectations.

If I continued to search, I would almost guarantee that I could find more comments and more quotes and attempt to stretch things by taking them out of context.  My goal isn’t an attempt to paint a picture of a spoiled rotten group of high-priced talents that are mailing it in on a nightly basis.

What I will in fact say is that it is certain that this team is missing something.  That “X-Factor” that great teams have.  The Tigers have a group of very talented individuals, that is certain.  Being somewhat of an individual team sport, in which it is on the surface, the battle between pitcher and hitter, you wouldn’t think that it would matter if a group of guys only cared about padding their stats, or looking good.  Unfortunately though, early signs indicate that this won’t be the case.

I think that there was definitely some truth to the words that were blurted to the media.  I think that is why Leyland jumped all over them.  You see, he is protecting his club.  He is a players’ coach, and knows how to deal with egos and all other psychological mumbo-jumbo that comes along with being a coach in today’s professional sports.

Truth is, they have to shake off this distraction, and I think that that is where Jim Leyland comes in and handles things the way that he has before it gets out of control.  This season isn’t lost just yet, as there are still 115 games to play.  A lot can happen in that time.

You tell me.  Why do we stink this year???

The way the crafty old man handled the media was mere perfection.  It is a craft that many managers strive for, but are unsuccessful at ever attaining.  Leyland could have taken a Hal McRae approach and thrown a fit (and phone) around the dressing room, or had a good ol’ fashioned Ozzie Guillen name dropping, player under the bus-fest only to name a few who lack the skill.  However, Leyland’s tirade was very direct, clear, concise and somewhat comical.

I don’t know how to shut my mouth, man.

He negated former Tiger Grilli’s comments with a shot by suggesting that Grilli needs to worry about Colorado now.  A further shot was directed at the fact that Grilli would still be here if he could pitch in situations, or throw strikes, but since he couldn’t that’s why he’s in fact gone.  Ouch!  And without naming names, he firmly stated that players hitting .200, or .220 shouldn’t use the media as a voice.

Reason being, he admittedly acknowledged that he himself has been horrible at best and he is man enough to admit it.  For someone batting .220 to attempt to tabulate excuses is “Horse-bleep!”  Followed by man more expletives.

He didn’t scurry any words in his direct response and considered the excuses themselves as “WEAK”.  He closed up, by suggesting that to this point, he has kept quiet as he should about naming names, and centering out players themselves, but clearly expressed his ability to do so, should the players continue their attempt to find scapegoats, or lame duck excuses through the media.

He wants them to man up, and act like men.  Not children, because when you are a professional, you go the park everyday and play with the passion and love of the game that you wouldn’t want to disrespect it.

It is to this, that I salute Jim Leyland for finally waking up the supposed sleeping giants and their mighty bats.  I hope that this necessity to blow up every once in a while isn’t the norm and the team just takes the simple approach that Leyland has throughout his years leading the Pirates to multiple divisional titles and NLCS appearances, as well as winning it all with the Marlins.

He knows how to win, and should this Tiger team lay their faith within him, I’m sure that he can lead them there as well.  Let’s just hope that they aren’t in the hole too much at this point to write of the 2008 edition of the Tigers.

I’ll be the first one to admit that I couldn’t believe that it took this long.  However, the big rant by a flustered Jimmy Leyland seems to have had quite an effect on the Tigers.  That, combined with a match-up with the lowly underachieving Seattle Mariners seemed to be just the right medicine for the ailing Tiger bats. 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve just about had ENOUGH!

A coming out party in a big series opener, followed by a near sequel in Wednesdays’ tilt, along with a similar offensive afternoon performance, the Tigers henchmen seem alive again.  Halt all of you bandwagon jumpers, in no way is this an indication that the World Series parade can again resume its’ planning.  We need not sip on the same champagne that was popped when the Tigers romped another West Divisional team (the Texas Rangers) in a 3-game slaughter bashing in 37 runs.  Remember how quickly that went flat once the Rangers left town.

 
Lots of high fives, as the Tigers scored plenty of runs The Tigers hitters were pumping out the hits no doubt, but they honestly lucked out in their match-ups by not having to face the “haves” of the Mariners starting rotation.  I’m of course speaking “King Felix” and Canadian great Erik Bedard, who just happened to pitch just prior to the opener of this series.  Give them credit though, as they took advantage of facing the bottom three of the M’s staff by knocking around 17 hits off of Silva and company in the opener, followed by 14 against lefty Jarrod Washburn and crew, and rounded out a smoking hot 72 hours by punching out 13 big hits against Miguel Batista and what has to be an exhausted bullpen.
Washburn and the rest of the M’s starting staff was knocked around pretty hard, and they just couldn’t get up!How would a team that is built to manufacture runs, and have the potential for huge innings turn the switch on and off so abruptly?  I mean, for the past 2+ weeks, they have struggled to have more than four runners cross the plate in a nine inning battle, and then the cash in an average of 10 runs over the course of one series?

What exactly contributed to this?  Was it Leyland’s anger/naughty word laced diatribe?  Is it just time for this team to perhaps stop pointing fingers and looking for the next guy to come through?  Being an outsider, I’ll never know, but I truly feel that it may be the fact that the energy has been pumped through their veins, a sense of pride in feeling as if they now realize what size of a hole they have dug into.The arms weren’t by any stretch of the imagination perfect, but we can’t have it all I suppose.  At least Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman were able to put together a pair of quality starts.  Even though Kenny Rogers was able to get the win in the middle game, he unfortunately continued to display signs of struggle.  This only added to boggling the minds of many Tiger fans wondering if it was the right decision to re-sign “The Gambler” to the one-year deal prior to the ’08 season.

Maybe he should put some of that mysterious brown stuff back on his hand?

I’m not trying to be a harsh critic, because the crafty veteran has given this team a lot, but it looks as if he is having a tough time keeping his stuff in check.  With Dontrelle Willis returning to the big club, although he has joined the bullpen for now, it will be interesting to see what the Tigers decide to do moving forward. With Gallaraga performing well, what will Leyland decide to do with that fifth rotation spot?  If Kenny continues to struggle, it may be a tough decision to toss him into the ‘pen, but he may be the best candidate.  He has shown fatigue as games go on and has pretty much displayed that he is a five inning pitcher, maybe six if his pitch count is low enough.  That may be a nice complement to the relief staff, whereas messing up the psyche of a younger starter could hinder their development.  I’m not paid to make these multi-million dollar decisions, but realize that the time is starting to countdown as to when a final decision must be made.

Who will Willis ultimately replace in the rotation?  I say “The Gambler”  Regardless, with Minnesota coming to town for a three game weekend tilt, the Tigers attempt to continue their climb to .500.  And with a record of 20-27, they certainly have lots of room for improvement.  Considering that it’s been few and far between that we can cheer something for more than a few minutes with this team, let’s enjoy this run for what it is and hope to see some more signs that indicate that they are growing out of the early season funk.  More importantly, let’s hope that they can continue to keep the sizzle in their bats, because it sure is fun to watch! 
Get it?  Sizzling bat?  YIKES…Sorry ’bout that one!

After 42 games, 17-27.  10 HUGE games under .500.  I keep trying to look for the positives.  Unfortunately, it is getting tougher and tougher to do so.
There are too many things that stick out like a sore thumb affecting this team.  Too many issues altogether that makes this team about as difficult to understand as a post-game interview with Jim Leyland.

I’m sorry Mr. Leyland, you’re going to have to slow down.  I’m having a hard time understanding you…

Ah yes, the marble-mouthed manager has been given a free pass for too long this season.  Yes, he knows his stuff.  Yes, he has led three different teams to the post-season in his coaching career.  Yes, he does have a World Series ring.  I for one; however, am wondering if he has run out of answers?  Has Leyland’s well run dry of the drive it takes to push, manage and run a professional ball club?  The question has been asked if he is running into the same complacency as he did when he took a hiatus after managing the NL Colorado Rockies, when he unceremoniously stepped down from being the bench-boss after only one season.
It has taken a while, but fans are really starting to grow impatient with this team as they expect and deserve so much more.  It’s no secret that the memories of that magical out of nowhere season in 2006 are becoming more and more vague.  Was that team the anomaly?  On paper, with the names on this payroll (as Dombrowski has put together a fantasy-laden dreamteam) that this roster can throw at opposing pitchers on a nightly basis it is tough to imagine that it has been Matt Joyce that has carried the offensive load of late.  Or that after eight trips through the rotation it is Armando Gallaraga that has been their most stable starter.  No offence to either, as they have really done a nice job stepping into what has to be an extremely difficult situatioin.  It can’t go unsaid though.

We assumed that the smiles were a sign of great things to come!?!?

Minus the stellar play of Magglio Ordonez, I beg someone to put forth an argument that another one of their “Murderer’s Row” candidates is earning their keep.
I, like many other of the Tigers faithful have waited for the turnaround.  Thinking small things are signs of a 180, and that the good stuff is about to come.  Little things in baseball can equate into a win here and a couple of those little things can turn into a streak and before you know it, a streak pulls you out of a slump and you can all sit around when it’s all said and done and laugh about the rough start.  The only thing is, in the last five years, the Central Division winner has had an average of 95 wins.  With 120 games left, the Tigers need to go 78-42 to hit that number.  While maintaining a .650 winning percentage wouldn’t be impossible, it sure would be tough to pull off.  Especially considering the struggles of their starting pitching thus far.

YIKES!  I didn’t know that it was that bad…

I don’t even want to consider the Wild Card, because with the average play from the Central to this point is showing that the WC winner is going to be someone from one of the other two divisions, the Divisional title is probably their only hope.  So, it all starts…(man, I feel as if I am saying that after each and every game…) on this home stand as the Tigers return to what hasn’t really been the friendly confines of Comerica Park for two three game sets against the Mariners and the Twins.  If the Tigers can only start to win a series at a time, or maybe go through the rotation with five wins, (that would be considered a miracle!!!) what many would consider an insurmountable climb can at least begin.

Yet another exciting Tigers homestand?

The schedule doesn’t get any easier as we enter the summer months.  The Tigers must start with the Central Division and improve their play against teams that they should beat.  Get the bats going, and let’s start putting together some quality starts for crying out loud.  I’ll get off of my soap-box and leave the managing up to the “Marlboro Man”.  That is, if he is still interested in job.