Collapse

Just a little over a month ago, the Detroit Tigers sat in first place in the A.L. Central. The time at the top was brief, and since then they have gone on a precipitous slide that now finds them in third place, nine games out. Since the All-Star break, they have lost twenty out of twenty-six. Put a fork in them, they're done.

The reason for this collapse is primarily due to injury. The broken ankle sustained by slugger Magglio Ordonez (seen above) was the last straw, but Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen also have spent time on the disabled list recently. Combined with an already weak bottom of the order (they have gotten very little production from the catcher and shortstop positions) and this spelled disaster. Brennan Boesch, a rookie phenom in May and June, has come back to reality, and the other rook call-ups haven't provided much spark.

The other thing that has cost them is the rickety starting rotation. I mentioned in my last post that they were winning despite a shaky staff, and that has caught up with them. Aside from Justin Verlander, who still has the annoying tendency to allow early-inning runs, no one has been consistent. Rick Porcello, so good last year as a rookie, has been horribly inconsistent, as has Max Scherzer, while Armando Galarraga and Jeremy Bonderman remind no one of Jack Morris. Even the bullpen, which has been the Tigers strong suit this year, has fallen on hard times. I watched last Saturday as they took a 4-2 lead into the ninth against the Red Sox, and Phil Coke couldn't hold it, allowing a bases-loaded three-run double to David Ortiz (Kevin Youkilis was walked, a risky move by skipper Jim Leyland, as supposedly you are not supposed to put the winning run on base). As Youkilis slid across home plate with the victory, I realized the Tigers season, for all intents and purposes, is over.

So what next? They will play the kids, and see what the future may hold. A lot of the higher-priced talent, like Ordonez, Guillen, and Johnny Damon, will likely be gone next year. Leyland and Dave Dombrowski have gotten extensions, and I'm all for that. But there will have to a refocus, as the only bona fides they will have coming back next year are Verlander and Miguel Cabrera (the Tigers' woes surely will cost him any chance of a triple crown, as there is no one to support him in the lineup). In the meantime, I will root for Tampa Bay. Or Texas. Anyone but the Yankees.