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.
