Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Are the Tigers setting us up for a division title or another fall?

Is it happening?
Or is it happening again?
Is it happening in the sense the Tigers have won two dramatic one-run games in a row over quality teams at Comerica Park.
They are three full games atop the American League. The team closest to the Tigers, the Indians, are one game above .500 and trying to compete in the buzzsaw that is Fenway Park this week.
The White Sox, who are playing the mighty Yankees, just keep scuffling well below .500. The Twins, the nightmare of every Tigers' fan, are eight games back and nine games below .500.
They all lost Tuesday. Looks great for the Tigers.
Or is it happening again in the sense the Tigers are jumping out to a lead in a division they clearly should win, only to be brought down again bitterly at the end?
Brennan Boesch and Alex Avila were really good last night. I've liked what I've seen lately from Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer. The Tigers have a solid lineup. The starting pitching should be OK, especially with the addition of Doug Fister.
But that bullpen is scary. Joaquin Benoit had been pitching better, but last night he unexpectedly reverted to his early-season form.
Dave Dombrowski made some nice moves that have helped put the Tigers in contention, but some just haven't worked. Couldn't they have gotten a little bit more than David Purcey for Scott Sizemore, who homered Tuesday off Felix Hernandez?

5 Comments:

Anonymous Jim Costa said...

As much as I want to believe this year is different, im not confident just yet. I like the lineup and we have the best pitcher in baseball but we have seen this story play out. It will come down to consistent pitching and hitters stepping up. (Like Boesch last night)

11:59 AM 
Blogger Pat Caputo said...

Jim Costa,
Given the Tigers track record, especially 2009, your feelings are understandable. But I think Tigers are better than in 2009.
Caputo

7:30 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Relax all you Tiger fans.

As I've said before, Minny is out of it. If they play to a 0.550 win rate the rest of year, they win only 80 games.

Indians will continue to fade.

The Sox are the contenders if their offense lights up.

But with Guillen and Ordonez back and some flexibility in the bullpen that Leyland is developing, this pennant is ours.

Call me an optimist but I'm really a statistician. But statistics can lie sometimes, that's why they call it sports.

9:02 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe the Tigers win the Central Division. Who cares? They're nowhere near the caliber of the BoSox or Yanks, let alone the Phillies, the best team in baseball. Stop with the hype over a slightly better than average team. I don't even LIKE Kool-Aid.

12:50 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I also think the Tigers are better than they were in 2009. I think they would even be better had they kept Polanco and Granderson. Coke is a journeyman, Jackson is above average - Granderson is a true superstar.

9:27 AM 

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