Quicksand

I'm gonna keep harping on these Tigers. They're a house of cards, people. Or a house built on quicksand. Or a sinking ship. Or any other cliched analogy. The bottom line is that Cabrera, Verlander and Jackson can't carry the team all season. Eventually, other dudes need to step up. That hasn't happened. Now that those three are going through mid-season doldrums (although still performing pretty well), the losses are piling up. Four straight so far, with some tough games still looming.

The problems are many, and we've covered them extensively (Bullpen, Nate, D-train, Maggs, Polly, etc). Thanks to the ineptitude of the AL Central, the Tigers somehow find themselves still in 1st place. With 97 games remaining, the Tigers might actually make the playoffs, but only if they move some players. At the current pace, they'll soon fall below Minnesota and likely finish with 75ish wins. So what should they do?

• Find a way to sign Matt Holliday. It will likely require Wilkin Ramirez. Holliday is having a subpar year, but, on the Tigers, he'd be one of the better hitters. He's only a few years removed from an MVP-like season. Granted, he produced inflated numbers hitting at Coors, but it's not like he's Tom Brookens at away ballparks. He's worth the gamble.
• Cut D-train, Nate, and potentially Maggs. The first two are obvious. They're just taking up a valuable roster spot from some kid who might actually throw strikes. The Maggs situation is trickier. If he gets 457 plate appearances, he gets $18million in guaranteed money for the 2010 season. Yet, if the Tigers cut him to avoid the $18million kicker, they could run into trouble with the player's union. Teams can't cut players for financial reasons (unlike just about every other sport and industry in the world). Maggs is underperforming, but is he underperforming enough to get cut? The Tigers better hope he either turns it up or turns it way down. Staying the status quo sucks. I dig Maggs, and I hope he catches fire... but the realist in me says it aint gonna happen.
• Sign a starter. I'm not talking about Johan Santana, but the Tigers need a reliable veteran to replace D-train. The Tigers would probably take Brad Penny and his 4.95 ERA.
• Change the mentality. This year's Tigers have won with small ball. Realize that the bats are pretty weak, so focus on bunting, stealing bases, and finding some way to hit a freakin' sacrifice fly. They have pretty fast guys on the roster (Anderson, Santiago, CG) - let 'em run. I'd rather they get thrown out stealing then watch another pathetic Magglio GIDP.

Soccer

US got smoked by Brazil. Less said about that the better. I'd love for the USSF to hire a foreign coach who opens up a can of whoop-ass on the complacent US nats, but it just ain't gonna happen. US Soccer head guru Sunil Gulati will simply not fire Bob Bradley until after the World Cup. Fairly or not, he'll give Bob that shot. So we gotta live with seeing Beasley and Kljesten on the field for at least another year. Ugh.