My column in Thursday's Oakland Press: http://bit.ly/nkmYMi

Not saying it is going to happen again, but to just let you know.
The Tigers have the exact same record after 136 games they had in 2009 - 75-61. In 2009, they were seven games up with 26 remaining. Right now they are six games up on the White Sox, and either 6 1-2 or six games up on the Indians, depending on the Indians' game Wednesday night against Oakland.
Minnesota caught the Tigers in 2009 by going 18-8 down the stretch compared to Detroit going 11-15.
Do I feel the Tigers are better prepared this year than 2009? For sure. But the series against the White Sox this weekend is going to be interesting, to say the least.

My column in Sunday's Oakland Press: http://bit.ly/q41q23

My column in Monday's Oakland Press: http://bit.ly/nsw4Sy

My column in Thursday's Oakland Press: http://bit.ly/qOET1L

My latest column for The Oakland Press: http://bit.ly/kjxpr0

My column in Monday's Oakland Press: http://bit.ly/lTgY02

If there is trepidation about the Tigers' 3-7 start, there should be.
They haven't had a winning season after starting 3-7 or worse since 1980. Since then, the Tigers have gone 3-7 or worse to begin the season 11 times - and had a losing record each year.
It doesn't mean the season is over. Even championship clubs go through 10-game periods in which they compile a 3-7 record or worse, but it's naive to believe the beginning of the season does not mean more in the grand scale of things. It does - often setting the tone for the whole year.
And the Tigers' best seasons have been fueled by solid or great starts.
The last five times the Tigers have reached the postseason, their 10-game record was: 9-1 (1968), 7-3 (1972), 9-1 (1984), 6-4 (1987) and 6-4 (2006). The '87 team was the only one to come back from what was a very rough start. The Tigers were 11-19 at one point that season before rallying to win a major league-best 98 games.

Count me among those who have given the Tigers' organization much credit this year for doing a good job of procuring minor league talent. It does speak well of general manager Dave Dombrowski and his staff that when the Tigers have brought up players from the minor leagues this season, they have generally shown they understand how to play the game.
But having said that, Dombrowski is clearly overplaying that card in recent days. These aren’t 4A players the Tigers are relying on in recent games, but Triple A players.
I'm talking about Brennan Boesch or Danny Worth or Alex Avila, but more Jeff Larish, Will Rhymes and Scott Sizemore.
And there is no excuse for putting minor league players in major league games. Not when you are two games out heading on a road trip to Tampa Bay and Boston.
Here’s a list of veteran players, granted flawed in one way or another, but who would have given the Tigers a much better chance of winning the last few days when they’ve been essentially the Detroit Mud Hens and given away games.
None are on contending teams. None would cost the Tigers virtually anything in terms of prospects.
Jim Edmonds, Geoff Blum, Adam Kennedy, Jason Michaels.

My exclusive on line commentary today at theoaklandpress.com - Who blame Jeremy Bonderman if he retired? http://tinyurl.com/29n8fpw

The Tigers' slide heading into tonight's game vs. Texas is difficult to paint with a so-called "positive" brush, but here is, hopefully, some perspective that isn't doom and gloom.
Take away, for a moment, the disppointment of the last week and see the bigger picture.
The Tigers have are tied for second place in the American League Central with Minnesota, just 3 1-2 games behind the White Sox. Who wouldn't have taken that on July 21 at the start of the season?
After tonight, the Tigers are at home for four straight games against Toronto, which was nine games over .500 on June 5, but has gone 15-22 since. That includes, like the Tigers, being swept in a four-game series at Cleveland.
Obviously it's a big game tonight. We'll see what Max Scherzer's got.

I understand it's only four games in a long season. I understand that just because the Tigers were swept in four straight games by the lowly Indians in Cleveland over the weekend, their season isn't over. It could just be a blip on the screen. That there is a need to be patient. Blah. Blah. Blah. Patience be damned... In truth, it's difficult not to hit the panic button after that dreadful four-game series during which the Tigers did little right against a glorfied Triple-A team. How can anybody, after witnessing that dismal performance over three days, not feel like, "Here we go again?" Maybe the Tigers will win some games this week against the Rangers and the Blue Jays at Comerica Park, where they have been dominant this season, and the aura surrounding the team will get better. But in the back of our collective minds, it's known the Tigers must go on the road again. And that they can't even win at Cleveland is profoundly revealing. I've been writing a lot this year, that just because the Tigers have suffered second-half collapses in the recent past, doesn't necessarily mean it will happen again this season. Maybe it does. Sure looked like it in Cleveland.