5 games out 10 games in

After 10 games the Detroit Tigers sit with a 3-7 record. Are you happy with this?? Because I AM NOT!! The problems from a year ago seemed to carry over to this season.

Problem Number 1: Must win away from Comerica Park
This squad was 25 games below .500 on the road last season and that is flat out unacceptable if you want to contend for the division. So far they have not improved on that posting a 2-4 record in 6 games. Home field is what kept the Tigers afloat last season and so far a 1-3 home record has people cringing. This team must get better on the road but I feel the home wins will come soon enough.

Problem Number 2: Starting Rotation after Verlander
Justin Verlander is a top 10 pitcher in the league and he is the Tigers horse and expect to win every night he pitches. You will get your 15-20 wins from "V" but after that is what remains to be the question. Max Scherzer had a strong finish to the year last season and has seemed to be on that same track to start 2011 (2-0 record with a 5.73 era in 2 games) and if he can develop into a solid second starter then it poses a 1-2 punch in your rotation. The big question mark is after that though, with the likes of Rick Porcello, Brad Penny and Phil Coke to round out the rotation. At least one of those guys needs to step up and be the 3rd starter and provide at 10-14 wins for this team. So far Porcello seems to be slumping and Brad Penny was beaten up in his first two starts even though his second start was a drastic improvement. Phil Coke proved he can pitch clutch out of the bullpen last year and lets see if his transition to a starter can give this team the spark it needs. Phil Coke is a crucial part to this rotation in my opinion.

Problem number 3: Situational Hitting
The lineup that the Detroit Tigers walked on the field with game number one in New York on paper seems pretty solid.
1.Jackson
2.Rhymes
3.Ordonez
4.Cabrera
5.Martinez
6.Raburn
7.Peralta
8.Inge
9.Avila

The problem is they seem to never have good situational hitting or never create any offense. Already in this young season I have seen numerous times with runners on base with 0 or 1 out and NO RUNS SCORE!! This is so frustrating to watch especially when you see every other team in this division generate runs all the time. Must take advantage of every chance you have to put a run on the board. Bunt a guy over or steal a bag or sacrifice to make this happen, do whatever it takes to make your at bat a positive one. Tigers lack this big time! Minnesota and Chicago are doing it and guess what the Royals and Indians are learning and if the Tigers don't start learning then they will be in the basement of this division all season long.

Don't get me wrong I still feel this lineup has a lot of pop in their bat and the offense can explode at any time. I still am picking them to win the division but a lot of improvements must be addressed by Mr. Leyland to get this team on track.

The State of Michigan Football

First off lets say thank you very much for firing Rich Rod! He did not represent Michigan football nor did he care about the rich tradition of Wolverine football. Rich Rod has ruined Michigan football for me the last three years. Growing up I have always been cheering for the Blue and Gold and always despised the Green and White team whose mascot wears a skirt. With that being said the three years of Rich Rod nearly mad me convert to the dark side, which I never really wanted to become a Sparty but the way that piece off shit Rich Rod ran a dirty program with complete a disrespect for an Michigan football history. Not to mention the first EVER NCAA violation but the firing came just in time and now all that complete nonsense and joke of a football coach is gone. Oh and by the way he went 15-22 overall and 6-18 in big ten play and 11-11 at home. ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!!

Where does Michigan go from here? Well many fans wanted Jim Harbaugh from Stanford but he has landed an NFL job with the 49ers and I cant say I don't blame him because the NFL is the elite league and the most challenge a coach can bring on himself. Good luck Jim in the NFL. Other names like Les Miles from LSU and Brady Hoke from San Diego State, who is a former Michigan assistant. I do like both of these options to fill the coaching spot for the Wolverines. Whomever they choose lets just hope they bring that hard nosed rich Michigan tradition back to this program that we have lacked the last three years. Bring back the top wide receiver wearing the number 1 jersey. Bring back the power running game and pound the ball down teams throat. Bring back an NFL caliber quarterback that stays in the pocket and not some freak in dreads running around that gets hurt every other play. Bring back the defense that would shutout teams and set the tone for the entire game. Bring back NO NCAA Violations. Bring back somebody that can beat Michigan State and Ohio State. Bring back our top 5 program that should be bidding for BCS National Championship every year or at least a BCS bowl game, even though the BCS system is garbage. Is that to much to ask from a long time fan that grew to love Michigan football as a kid because of all the tradition, history and style of play?? Lets hear your thoughts...

Unlucky 7

The Tigers game last night made me sick to my stomach! First you only get four hits which two of them came from Cabrera. Cabrera needs some help, I feel that he carries the team game after game and the only one playing worth anything! Second, how do you expect to win with an infield that features Don Kelly at 3RD, Ramon Santiago at SS and Ryan Raburn at 2B. Between the three of those guys they have 108 hits in 92 games. THAT IS COMBINED FOR THREE GUYS!! So you mean to tell me that three so-called professional baseball players can only mustard up about one hit between the three of them a game. Absolutely terrible! That is a combined average of .240 for Kelly, Santiago and Raburn. So is this is what our infield is going to look like for the next six weeks with Brandon Inge out with an injury? I sure hope not. We will see if this forces the hand of Dave Dombrowksi to make a move. I sure would like to see something get shuffled up and I am sure plenty of Detroit Tiger fans out there would agree with me because if the Tigers keep this pace up they instantly move from possible contender to a definite pretender.

Tigers get swept on road?

Well after a doubleheader of games yesterday the Tigers managed to drop 2 games and are in danger of getting swept by the helpless Indians. As I sit here and watch game four of the series I can only hope that the Tigers don't get swept by a terrible Cleveland Indians squad that reminds me of a minor league lineup. I don't understand why there is no passion in the lineup or any sort of understanding on how every game until the end is very crucial. The Tigers seem to take too many games or teams for granted. I am unsure if it's that the Tigers feel that they are better than some of these teams they constantly lose to or what but they need to take every team seriously and lay the hammer on teams they are supposed to beat. This rises the question of, is this team really that good? I would like to think so because I have seen flashes of greatness but also seen flashes of disaster. At some points I feel they are the best team in the division while others times I feel they are the worst team in baseball. Like I said in an earlier blog, the Tigers need to clean up their road woes especially against teams that they are supposed to beat. Tigers got of to a rough start in today's game when the Indians scored 5 straight runs to take a 5 to nothing lead but the good news is that the Tigers have managed to put two across the board in an attempt to comeback and win. We will see what happens...

Detroit Tigers lack luster road performances

It was so disappointing to see the Detroit Tigers come out in the first game after the All-Star break and lay a big fat egg. Where is the emotion and passion that this team fails to have on a consistent basis? I can pretty much guarantee that it was not in that Tiger dugout during an 8-2 pounding given by the Indians last night. This team is frustrating to watch at times. If this team expects to compete for the division title then they need to clean up their road woes. The Tigers entered the night 9 games under .500 on the road before a team who's overall record is 20 games under .500. These are the kind of series that Detroit must take care of and at least win 2 out of 3 games and in some cases they must sweep the sub-par teams. How do you explain such a drastic playing style from the friendly confines of Comerica Park to the sinking ship on the road? Lets here your thoughts...

Joining the wonderful world of blogging!

So I have been seeing plenty of blogs lately and wondered how this whole thing worked. So I decided to check it out for myself and I found myself landing at Blogger.com to help me along the way. This is my first installment and I am new at this so bear with me as I figure my way around this whole blogging thing. Please feel free to leave me any tips on how to make a successful blog.