The fun never ends...

It’s the beginning of July, and the Tigers are sitting in familiar territory: second-place in the American League Central. Last year at this time, the Tigers sat in second-place behind the Chicago White Sox with a 39-41 record, and even as frustrating as last year was at times, this year seems even more agitating. Victor Martinez was coming back, Dave Dombrowski locked up Anibal Sanchez solidifying the best rotation in baseball, and Torii Hunter was coming to town to not only fill the gap in right field but to also fill the two-hole in a lineup that was desperately looking for answers all of last year.

But here we are—just before the halfway point of the season—and the Tigers sit a half-game back of the Cleveland Indians. No one predicted this, nor would it have been logical to predict this. Baseball experts all over TV and radio predicted the Tigers to win the World Series, let alone win the measly AL Central.

So, amidst all this frustration and uneasiness that is the 2013 Detroit Tigers, should we as fans be worried? Are the Indians a legitimate threat to steal the division that was everything but gift wrapped for the Tigers? I say no. There are three main reasons why the Tigers are at their lowest point of the season right now, and these same three reasons are why the Tigers’ fortunes are bound to change.

The Bullpen

This one is no secret. The Tigers’ bullpen was the team’s Achilles heel heading into spring training and it’s lived up to all the hype and more. Hopefully—for the sake of our sanity—the Papa Grande experiment is over, but with Valverde accepting his option to Toledo there’s a chance we’ll see him again later this season. Regardless, he hasn’t been the only problem with the Tigers’ bullpen thus far. Albuquerque couldn’t throw the ball over the plate in his first stint in the Big Leagues this season, Bryan Villareal couldn’t throw the ball over two plates lying side-by-side, Bruce Rondon is young and still finding his way, and Octavio “don’t ask don’t tell” is, well, I couldn’t tell you where he is. He’s been hampered by elbow inflammation but don’t ask Jim Leyland when he’ll be back because he has no idea either. Did I fail to mention Phil Coke? He’s 0-5 with a 6.56 ERA.

But, even with all of this turmoil throughout the first half of the season, the bullpen will get better. Drew Smyly has proven to be a valuable lefty that can pitch in long-relief or in the late innings, and Joaquin Benoit has been the most consistent man out of the bullpen all year. Al-Al has shown better command with his fastball since he’s been recalled from Toledo and Rondon has made two impressive appearances in a row. On top of all of that, there’s no way Dombrowski doesn’t add a piece or two before the deadline. Jesse Crain sounds pretty good to me.

Victor Martinez

No one expected Victor to start the season out hot after missing an entire year due to reconstructive knee surgery, but no one thought he would struggle this late into the season (especially after his success in 2011). The struggles are bound to turn around though, and the stats back it up. Martinez only strikes out 10.9 percent of the time he stands in to bat yet his batting average on balls in play is a lousy .240. Victor is going to find more holes and gaps if he keeps his strikeout rate down and continues to put the ball in play in the second half of the season, so look for him to pick up the Tigers rather than pull them down. He could easily hit .300 from now until the end of September (he’s a career .300 hitter).

Lack of clutch hitting

The Tigers offense has been abysmal in the late innings of games, most notably extra-innings with a 2-8 record. The club sits close to last in nearly all offensive categories after the 7th inning or later. So, what evidence is there that the team will get their late inning woes figured out? There really aren’t any stats to back this one up, but do you really expect a lineup with the likes of Miggy, Prince, Jackson, Hunter, and Victor Martinez to not figure things out? These are some of the best hitters in the game, and for many of us the best hitter we’ve ever seen in Cabrera, so there’s no way the team can continue to go silent in clutch situations.

Sure, the first half of the season has been frustrating. That seems to be the norm for the Tigers in recent history. But, there’s no need to get too worked up. The amount of talent on this team won’t allow this team to lose the division, and the lack of talent in the AL Central won’t allow the Tigers to lose the division. So take a deep breath Tigers fans, it can only go up from here.

#BringBackPolly

.193. That is the combined batting average of all Detroit Tigers second basemen this year.  Sure, the starting pitching has been inconsistent, the bullpen has been erratic at times, the fielding has been sub-par, and the hitting has come and gone, but if you could point to one area that has consistently plagued the Tigers this year it would be the second base position.

Polanco batted .311 during his time in Detroit

It seems like an eternity since the Tigers have had a second baseman taking the field for them on an everyday basis, but in reality it was only three seasons ago in 2009 that the Tigers called Placido Polanco their everyday second baseman.  Here's the problem, though, and Jim Leyland has said it over and over again this year: "I can only work with the players that I have."  So what can the Tigers do to resolve their second base issue?  Bring back Placido Polanco.

Currently, the Philadelphia Phillies sit dead last in the National League East, four games below .500 and eight games back of the energetic Bryce Harper-led Washington Nationals.  The Phillies have shown no signs of improvement so far this season mainly because of the injuries multiple stars on their team have sustained (Ryan Howard-achilles, Roy Halladay-shoulder, Chase Utley-knee), and also due to the competitive nature the NL East has discovered in the 2012 season; the Phillies are the only team below .500 in the division.  With timetables relatively unknown on Utley and Howard, and Halladay still needing at least six more weeks to recover from his injury, it looks as if the Phillies will continue to struggle well into July, making them sellers at the trade deadline.

Polanco, being 36 years of age and in the final year of a three-year deal, is perfect trade-bait for the Phillies and a perfect fit for the Tigers.  Although Polanco is 36, his numbers have hardly slipped.  He's batting .289 this year with only 17 strikeouts in 51 games.  Compare that to Detroit's primary number-two hitters, Andy Dirks and Brennan Boesch, who have a combined 60 strikeouts.  You know what you're going to get when Polanco steps to the plate; a professional at-bat.

Reinserting Placido Polanco as the number two hitter in the Tigers line-up would not only help set the table for Cabrera and Fielder to drive in even more runs, but the bottom of the order would benefit greatly from this move.  Dirks and Boesch could permanently hit in the bottom half of the order, stabilizing a bottom half that seems to change drastically from game-to-game.  On their days off, Leyland could bat Quintin Berry in the nine-spot to put speed on the bases for the top of the order to drive in.  The bottom of the order may not be perfect after this deal is done, but a level of consistency will be attained, and consistency is something the Tigers have lacked all year long.

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Castellanos is the #45 ranked prospect in baseball

Obviously the Phillies are not going to just hand the Tigers Placido Polanco for some cash.  He did win a gold glove last year and remains one of the most consistent hitters in all of baseball, so difficult decisions will have to be made by Dave Dombrowski.  The necessary decision that Dombrowski needs to make in order to make this deal a reality is packaging Nick Castellanos.  Yes, Nick Castellanos, Detroit's highest touted position player prospect.  Let me explain.

Nick Castellanos plays third base.  The Tigers have a pretty good third basemen by the name of Miguel Cabrera.  Placido Polanco plays third base for the Phillies.  The average age in the infield on the Phillies is 33; Castellanos is 20.  Need I say more?

The value of Castellanos to the Phillies is significantly higher than that of Polanco to the Tigers, so clearly this would not be a player for player deal.  Dombrowski needs to pick out a prospect within the Phillies organization comparable to Castellanos's value (#45 rated prospect according to Baseball America), and make the Phillies include that player in the deal.  I could give you a particular name, but truthfully the Tigers could use prospects at any position other than first base, third base, and centerfield.

So take it or leave it.  This is the beginning of my #BringBackPolly campaign.  He's the missing piece to a struggling Tigers lineup puzzle.  And honestly, who wouldn't want to take the chance to once again see Polly jumping and skipping around the bases like a little leaguer after a walk-off home run in the ALCS.  The only difference this year will be who hits it.

Will it ever end?

Yes, I’m just as frustrated as every Tigers fan. But no, I’m not giving up on this team just yet.  I cringe and cry on the inside when the bases are loaded two innings in a row, and the Tigers fail to drive in a single run, but there remains a small spec of light in the back of my brain that makes me feel change is coming; winning is coming; first place in the American League Central is coming.  And don’t worry Tigers fans, the change is coming soon.  The pain will soon subside, and the extraordinary suffering we are all feeling will fade away.  Why are the victories within eyesight right now? Here are three reasons:



1. Interleague Play

The Tigers have already faced the Pittsburgh Pirates to begin their play against National League opponents, but the month of June consists of five more series against the NL.  How does this play to the Tigers advantage?  The five teams the Tigers will be facing have a combined record of 100-118.  The toughest test the Tigers will face is the St. Louis Cardinals, who own a 25-19 record, but the red birds will travel to Detroit for this June 19-21 series

Not only does the interleague schedule favor the Tigers in June, but the Tigers have a 143-125 interleague record since Bud Selig first instituted play between the two leagues in 1997.  That may not seem too impressive, but remember, the Tigers lost 119 games in 2003.

2. Prince Fielder

Fielder signed a 9-year 214-mil. dollar contract this winter

I won’t be the first person to say that Prince Fielder has been disappointing so far this season.  His 7 HR’s and 25 RBI’s have him on a pace to hit 26 HR’s and 92 RBI’s; 11 HR’s and 14 RBI’s less than his career averages.  Surely we cannot expect Fielder to continue hitting in this fashion.  Fielder is known as being a slow starter, and his .262 May batting average backs up that proclamation.  Look for Fielder to go Greg Jennings style at some point during the month of June and “put da team on his back.”

3. June 2011

Last season the Tigers went into the month of June with a 28-26 record, which is still an attainable record for the Tigers this May.  The Tigers went on to win 5 of their first 6 games in June, and ended the month 18-12; 44-38 overall.  Currently the Tigers are averaging 4.1 runs per game, so the offense can only go up from here.  The Tiger bats will heat up as the weather heats up in the Motor City this June.



So as painful as it is to watch the Tigers right now, the winning ways will come.  At the end of July last year, the Tigers were only 6 games over .500 and ended the season 28 games over the mark.  Remember, it was only 6 weeks ago that the Tigers were 6-0 and pounding the ball to all parts of the field.  We’ve seen the bats come alive already, and it’s only a matter of time before they come alive again.