On Fox Sports Detroit last night, I witnessed this exchange between a reporter and Jim Leyland:
Reporter - "Is it like a broken record?"
Leyland - "What?"
Reporter - "The offense."
Leyland - "Oh. (pause) It is what it is."
Yesterday, I posted that the Tigers bats remain dead and Inge needs to sit. I don't claim to be any sort of master prognosticator - it's simply common sense. Despite the wins over the Sox, they still aren't hitting well and absolutely suck with runners in scoring position. Last night, they were 1 for 8. Inge is batting .125 since the All-star break, and check out his power numbers -- 0 HR, 0 RBIs. Something is clearly wrong, and the dude needs time off.
According to foxsports.com, the Tigers remain "aggressive" in their pursuit of a hitter. I don't hold out much hope with any solid trade on the horizon. The Tigers simply don't have much expendable talent. They obviously need to keep Porcello and Ryan Perry, and they need to hold onto young bats. What else would other teams want? Magglio's contract? Clete Thomas? Raburn? I don't see it happening.
On a side note, the Tigers actually lead the majors in batting average with bases loaded - .385. Yet, they have the 2nd fewest sacrifice flies, and they've grounded into more double plays than anybody. So, it's feast or famine. Right now... famine.
They just dont look like theyre having any fun out there...its kinda reminds me of the Pistons at the end of last year. Just joyless.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting comparison. The real killer would be if Dombrowski trades away a top player, like the trade of Farnsworth in '05. We all know the Farnsworth of '08 was atrocious, but he was a truly solid setup man in '05. The team crumbled after that deal.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that DD won't make any trades this year. If the team remains in contention throughout August, he'll try to pick up a Matt Stairs-type... maybe even Matt Stairs himself!