Your 2011 Detroit Tigers

The 2011 Detroit Tigers were on display last night, warts and all. An outsider might think that I bitch too much about a first-place team. There may be some truth to that. The Tigers' situation would be much worse if they swapped spots with the Royals. So why can't we all just enjoy the ride? Part of the problem is Leyland. We're in Year 6 of the Jim Leyland experiment. His teams flirt with greatness, only to ultimately disappoint. While the Tigers are in first place, everybody knows they're nothing more than mediocre.

So, in light of last night's ugly loss to the Twins, when all the Tiger flaws were exposed, let's break down the 2011 Detroit Tigers. What do they lack? Where do they excel? And, note that I'm judging the Tigers against other playoff teams.

Tiger flaws

Starting pitching: It's quite ironic that the team with the leading Cy Young contender would list starting pitching as a flaw. But outside Verlander, the team has no reliable starter. Let's look at August stats. ERA's for August: Scherzer-5.00, Porcello-8.44, Penny-6.00, Fister-6.14.

Yuck. In the last six games, the Tigers have given up 10, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9 runs. This is a key stretch of the season, and they're averaging 6.5 runs/game. Now, there was a point earlier in the season when the starters were among the strongest in the league. Then the bottom fell out. Scherzer did exhibit a strong resolve in Saturday's victory over Baltimore. Perhaps that comeback win will energize him going forward. The Tigers desperately need one of the other starters to carry some of the load.

Bullpen: Just like the starters, the bullpen has one ace (Papa Grande) and a bunch of ne-er do wells. For a few wonderful months, the Amazing Al Alburquerque helped shoulder the bullpen load. Since his injury, the Tigers don't have reliable help in the middle-to-late innings. Case in point: last night. With the game on the line, Leyland calls up lefty-specialist, Dan Schlereth, who was on a role of 5 straight games without a run. Schlereth proceeded to walk his first batter, allowed him to steal 2nd, then gave him 3rd base on a wild pitch. Then walked Justin Morneau. Then gave up a 3-run bomb by Jim Thome. It's not just Schlereth. We've seen similar implosions from Coke, Benoit, Pauley, etc. These cats don't get rocked every game, just enough to lose.

Defense: In fielding% and errors, the Tigers rank 4th-to-last in the AL. This shouldn't be a surprise when the team trots out sub-par defensive players at every position other than CF and C. Last night, the Tigers entered the 3rd inning with a 1-0 lead. The first Twin batter bunted. Wilson Betemit fielded the bunt cleanly but his throw sailed to the wall, granting the batter 2nd base. The next batter hit a grounder to Raburn who bobbled it. Everybody safe (at 3rd and 1st). The next batter scored the runner from 3rd on a ground out (to Peralta). Then two doubles and the Twins had a 3-1 lead.

In that inning, the Twins somehow scored 3 runs on 2 doubles and a bunt.

Team Speed: Or lack of. This should be no surprise, but the Tigers are last in the majors in stolen bases. On the flip-side they've also been caught-stealing the fewest times in the majors. Still, the lack of speed costs the Tigers runs. How many runs? My completely unsubstantiated guess would be roughly 0.5 runs/game. If they had more burners on base, they could score more regularly on singles. Simple as that. A walk could lead to a stolen base. Then a single scores that runner. Yet, the Tigers don't have that luxury. Instead of a run, they'd have a man on 1st and 2nd.

Tiger positives

Overall batting average: While they're not the most clutch team in the league (0-7 with RISP again last night), they do tend to hit the ball well. As a team, the Tigers rank 4th in the AL in batting average. With Maggs now out of the lineup, that average may rise. They're 5th in the AL in runs. So, despite the bad pitching, the team sometimes ekes out wins due to the bats.

Verlander and Papa Grande: Both dudes are having great years, especially Verlander. Take those dudes out of the lineup and the Tigers say hello to last place. They'd fall as quickly as an anvil on Wile E Coyote.

So, that's the 2011 Tigers in a nutshell. They can hit pretty well, but, if Verlander ain't starting, they'll usually lose (46-49).