The Slump
Well, it was bound to happen. Now that we are past the all star break, the Detroit Tigers seem to find themselves in a bit of a slump. I'm actually not too mad about it, but what was looking like a historic run might be on the skids. This isn't a bad time for them to have a slump, better now than right at the end of the season when they need to show up for the playoffs.
It's still a bit disappointing for true fans of the franchise. I have a feeling there are quite a number of folks out there saying "same old Tigers" right about now. Growing pains like this are not unheard of and I definitely don't think it is time to hit the panic button.
You might recall, it wasn't until the end of the season that the Tigers managed to find themselves in the playoffs last year. What started as a pretty lack luster season turned into something that was almost perfect. The fact that they would come out of the gate strong this season was never in doubt.
I also could have predicted this slump would come, I just wouldn't have been able to tell you exactly when.
It's inevitable.
Going into the all star break the Tigers took four losses in a row, then they proceeded to lose the next two games after the break. They had a win down in Texas, then got swept by the Pirates and then Toronto. Thankfully things seem to be turning around with a win against Toronto and then a win against Arizona, but the Blue Jays still sit at the top of the AL now.
In fact, I saw this blurb the other day and I thought it was quite interesting:
"The Tigers are the only MLB team in the modern era to have a 13 game span where they:
were outscored by 50 or more
were outhit by 50 or more
had fewer than 25 XBH
struck out 125 or more times
They came into this stretch with the best record in the MLB"
Stuff happens though am I right? All they need to do is string together a couple of wins and things can completely turn around. It is pretty obvious that our bats need to get back in gear. Amazing pitching alone isn't going to win you those games...
The Tigers are still looking good in the AL Central a full 10 games ahead of Cleveland. As I said though, they are a complete game behind Toronto who has 63 wins and Houston is close on their heals with 60 wins versus the Tigers 62.
Meanwhile, over in the National League, things are still tight with Milwaukee in the lead now and the Mets and Dodgers right behind them with 62 wins a piece. I wouldn't sleep on the Cubs or the Phillies who are right in the running with 62 and 60 wins respectively.
How crazy would a Brewers/Blue Jays World Series be?
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Love Comerica. I attended a game there last year and it was a blast.
It's a great park. I have only been to two major league parks though, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. This is an old photo, they took down the Tigers sign this year and put a new Comerica sign above the score board. It's been a while since I have been to an game here.