The Tigers had Casper Wells, Ryan Raburn, Donald Kelly, Brennan Boesch, Alex Avila and Will Rhymes leading the charge Sunday against a starting pitcher who won 18 games with an ERA below 3.00 last year.
Surprised they didn't score many runs? I'm not.
In my opinion, Tigers manager Jim Leyland needs to play proven regulars more often. That's what you have a $105 million player payroll for. The lineup he sent out against Oakland's Trevor Cahill Sunday didn't have much of a chance.
There were three, for certain, long-term major leaguers in the batting order - Austin Jackson, Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta. And Jackson is in a nasty slump to start the season. Brandon Inge isn't that old. He was rested. Magglio Ordonez has some obvious injury issues. Victor Martinez is also ailing, with a "tweaked" groin. If they're not playing, Inge certainly should be. So should Ramon Santiago, who is a much better hitter than Rhymes.
If players are slumping, the best get way to get out of it, especially early in the season, is by playing. At least they have track records.
Also, the top of the order is killing the Tigers. With Jackson slumping, and Rhymes hitting .222 with few walks, there always seem to be two outs when the Tigers get to the middle of their lineup.
Also, Scott Sizemore is hitting well at Triple-A; get him up to the major leagues. Every hit he gets at Toledo is a waste. The Tigers should ride the hot hand at second base - if they can find one. Maybe Sizemore would be it for awhile.