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Detroit Tigers:
Kittens no more
Saying the Detroit Tigers have been a disappointing
team to watch is a gross understatement. They’ve failed
to make it to the post-season since 1987, not had a winning season
in a decade and have finished an average of 28 games out of first
place in the same span. In the magical 1984 season the Tigers
finished with a 104-58 record and a first place finish in the
American League East. That season the unspeakable happened the
Tigers not only made it to the playoff and the World Series but
won it all by slapping the Padres 4-1. That team was lead by
Tiger greats like Jack Morris, Willie Hernandez, Lance Parrish,
Alan Trammel, and Lou Whitaker.
Last season they capped off this amazingly awful
run with the second worst record in baseball history
with a 43-119 record. Going into the last series of the season
last year against the Minnesota Twins, the Tigers only needed
to lose two of four to claim the record. They lost the first
game and took the last three from the twins, including climbing
out of a 8-0 hole to win the game 9-8. Despite all the losing
the team showed some grit and some pride in themselves, which
is something good to build on.
The Detroit Tigers in an un-Tiger like fashion went
out and spent a good chunk of cash on the free agent
market during the off-season. They dropped a whopping $18.7
to bring in free agents that will keep them from losing 119
games this year. Their biggest acquisitions were Cooperstown
bound catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez,
former all star second baseman Fernando Vina, and closer Ugueth Urbina. They
also brought back manager Alan Trammel to right the wrongs from last year.
Last year’s Tigers batted a nauseating .240, but this year’s version
is batting a much improved .277 half-way through May. The centerpiece of the
Tiger batting order is its 3-4-5 hitters, where Rodriguez, left fielder Rondell
White, and first baseman Carlos Pena look to drive in a lot of runs. Setting
the table for them will be new Tigers center fielder Alex Sanchez and Vina. During
the month of June Rodriguez batted a Playstation 2 like .500. It wasn’t
for a day or a week, but for the entire month of June he batted .500 and raised
his season batting average to a ridiculous .381. He became the first Tiger to
ever hit .500 in a month and the first player since Todd Helton did it in May
of 2000 while he was flirting with .400 on the season.
When you look up Mike Maroth in the baseball dictionary,
you’ll find his
picture next to the phrase “hard luck loser.” Maroth, who lost a
record 21 games last year, allowed two runs or less in almost a third of his
starts and still only had nine wins. The pitching staff was better than what
their win-loss record shows. The addition of Ugueth Urbina should help stabilize
the Tigers bullpen that didn’t have a veteran closer like Urbina last year.
Are you a Detroit Tigers Fanatic? Check out DetroitTigersFanatics.com!
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