11-11, tied for 2nd with Chicago, 1 game behind Cleveland.

One of the things going right for the Tigers so far this season had been the starting pitching, which has kept the team in games even as it has been unable to produce runs.

Over the last 10 games, that has all changed, with the starters going 2-6 with a 6.65 ERA.  Bad Max Scherzer was the latest victim, giving up 3 runs and a damaging 7 walks in fewer than 5 innings.  In fact there was even some speculation a trip to Toledo could be in Scherzer’s future, but Leyland has apparently put the lid on that conversation.

Tonight Duane Below will get his first start of the season and try to get things back on track.  Below has pitched 12 innings of relief so far this season, is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, and has yet to give up his first walk (0.58 WHIP), which could be a nice antidote to what we watched yesterday.

Meanwhile, sources say Delmon Young will be suspended by MLB, with an announcement coming as soon as tonight (duration unknown).  Andy Dirks has played capably in Young’s place so far, although the unaccustomed display of fielding prowess in left field that has come as a result has shocked Leyland into moving him back to the DH spot.

***

In other news, former Tiger Brandon Inge will be making his debut as an athletic Athletic tonight.  The Tigers will see him in Oakland May 10-13.  Meanwhile the first-place Indians are unveiling the newest member of the tribe, Johnny Damon.

***

Tonight’s player of the Pre-game:  Miguel Cabrera, who is 15-29 career against Royals starter Luke Hochevar

Today’s Best-Fielder-DHing Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Andy Dirks DH
6. Alex Avila C
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Don Kelly LF
9. Ramon Santiago 2B

11-10, 1st place, tied with Cle.

Two in a row.

10-10, 2nd place, 1 game behind Cle.

Short and sweet for the W.

10-9, tied for 1st place with Chi and Cle.

Could it possibly be that the Tigers are only 19 games into the season, and they have already hit their low point?

And that their low point is tied for 1st place?

And that Brandon Inge is no longer a Tiger, at any level?

Yes, probably, and yes.

I think there’s a decent chance that the Tigers lose 6/7 again this year, but losing those on a homestand, with three of the games vs. Seattle, is inexcusable. Jim Price said it best during the game on Thursday – “They just don’t look interested.” Delmon Young was clearly interested in a few beers last night, and his resulting altercation in NYC and ugly words have landed him on the bench for tonight. Young has a history of poor decision making and clearly should not be looked to right now to right this team.

The hitting was anemic, the fielding pathetic, and the Team’s general disposition was indifferent. I really think that the Tigers hit a low point late last night after an uninspired game, the Inge release, and Young’s arrest. Yes, it’s early, but it’s hard to think that the baseball can get much worse.

And after all of that, the Tigers are 10-9, tied for first place in the AL Central. I don’t expect them to hold down first place starting tonight through the end of the season, but this goes to show that the Tigers will have to fall a long ways to be out of contention in the Central.

So with that, we open a 3 game set at Yankee Stadium. Ivan Nova is off to a nice start for the Yankees, posting a 3-0 record thus far. But JV should come in tonight and end this losing streak.

In other news:

– Doug Fister threw about 50 pitches yesterday and said that it “felt good.”

– Longman Superstar Duane Below will take Fister’s spot on Monday against KC.

– Brad Eldred up in Inge’s spot. Eldred is 31 and a journeyman who has had 3 unremarkable stints in the bigs between Colorado and Pittsburgh. He has been blasting 1 HR every 6.15 ABs in the international league so far this year. No word on whether he has any friends who can play 2B.

Tonight’s Brad Eldred featured lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Brennan Boesch, RF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Don Kelly, LF
6. Brad Eldred, DH
7. Alex Avila, C
8. Jhonny Peralta, SS
9. Ryan Raburn, 2B

Well, here we go.  Rick Porcello–he of the 8-run first inning–is all that stands between the Tigers and a series sweep, at home, at the hands of the lowly Mariners.

Not to worry:  Rick, who no doubt reads DTW before starts, will be inspired by both the picture for today’s post, and his resplendent full name festooned across the banner.

The Tiger offense continues to struggle (but it was King Felix), although the Boesch HR is a hopeful sign that he has emerged from his funk.

So what is wrong with the offense so far?  Time to take a look, as promised.

Today’s category:  Runner at 3rd and less than 2 out.  The complaint is that the Tigers are awful at this, and waste rare scoring opportunities.  Verdict:  true, and it’s worse than it looks.

Detroit is dead last in the R3L2O category, only scoring 34% of its runners (AL average: 48%, Best team Toronto at 61%).  But if you look at RBIs with a R32LO instead of runs scored, the Tiger performance drops to just 28%–5 of the runs they have scored have been on errors and wild pitches.  Their OPS with R3L2O is .310, vs a league average of .820.

These are early season results and are based on small sample sizes, so some caution must be used in concluding anything about how the season will go.  The R3L2O failure has definitely been a part of the early season struggle to score runs though. We will revisit these things on a periodic basis.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Andy Dirks

This is the day the Dirks day-to-day ends, and it ends up with him in the leadoff spot.  Guy still can’t manage to take the field with a glove on though.

Today’s Where is Everyone? Lineup:

1. Andy Dirks DH
2. Brennan Boesch RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Don Kelly CF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Ryan Raburn 2B
9. Gerald Laird C

Well, it’s not about Brandon Inge.

So, what is it about?

Is it about the lack of a mean streak?

Is there a mean SOB in the minor league system who could replace the friendly Inge?

Yes, there was another Bad Max sighting.  But the Tigers scored a relatively healthy 4 runs, with comforting contributions from the middle of the order.  Still, they were no match for the mild Mariners, and consternation brews.

Is it about epic failures with runners on 3rd and less than 2 out?  Are the Tiger hitters too impatient, letting starting pitchers off the hook? Too many strikeouts? Inability to advance runners? A big hole in the lineup with whoever is scribbled in as 2B?

I will look at all of these issues and more in tommorow’s post (this in the tradition of the Anglo-Saxon beot).

Tonight the Tigers try to get back on track with Rookie Adam Wilk facing King Felix Hernandez. Tiger-Killer Hernandez has won 8 consecutive decisions against Detroit, so…good luck with that, kid.

And what’s up with Andy Dirks? He has been out 8 days now with a day-to-day mild hamstring something.  If he could play, he would (Smokey is going full-bore lefty tonight)…if not, why not DL him, and bring up Clete? (oops).

***

Today’s random note:  Jeremy Bonderman is contemplating a comeback.

***

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Delmon Young

The Tigers need a mean streak. Delmon once threw his bat at an umpire.

Today’s Donkeiago Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Alex Avila C
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Ramon Santiago 2B
9. Don Kelly LF

The Rangers head back to Texas to celebrate Pudge Rodriguez’ retirement, and the Seattle Mariners drop into the D for a 3-game set against the 10-6 Tigers.

The Rangers series may not have been as bad as it sometimes seemed: The Rangers bombed the Tigers in the first game of the series, but after a bad 1st inning in the second game, the Tigers played them even, only giving up 6 earned runs over the last 28 innings against the best hitting team in the majors, and were a couple of bad throws and maybe a blown call from splitting the series.

Still there is a nagging feeling left by the team’s inability to score runs, or even advance runners.  This vaunted Detroit offense has now dropped to 12th in the AL for team OPS (.695, above only Seattle and Oakland).  And it isn’t just the Raburn-Inge effect:  the Tiger 3-6 hitters are only 10th best in the AL.  Detroit may not need many runs to beat Seattle (see above), but if the offensive struggles continue, let the nail-biting commence.

Tonight we will see Max Scherzer (or is it Max Scherzer?) try to tame the tepid Mariner bats, while Jason Vargas does the same for the M’s.

***

Tonight’s random note:  The Braves have demoted Jair Jurrjens (0-2, 9.37) to the minors.

***

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Brennan Boesch

Boesch has been one of the real struggling bats so far this season, putting up Inge-like numbers (.212 BA, .538 OPS), including an OPS of .000 in 4 PA with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 out (2 Ks).  But Boesch hit his 1st HR of the year Sunday night, and has hit Vargas well over his career (6-9 with 2 2B).  Look for Boesch to continue to break out tonight.

Today’s Rabinging Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Alex Avila C
8. Ryan Raburn LF
9. Brandon Inge 2B

Good pitching beats good hitting. Or maybe the adage should be superior pitching meets incredible hitting.

On a day when JV did not have his best stuff, he demonstrated why he’s the best pitcher in baseball by shutting down baseball’s best offense and ending the Rangers’ 8 game winning streak. Ron Washington said after the game “We didn’t lose, we got beat.”

+ 1.

JV’s run was unearned due to a passed ball where Avila simply missed a high curve. The Rangers took pitches and worked counts, which is what led to Verlander’s departure after only 6 but 115 pitches. Dotel was good, Benoit was okay enough and Valverde was Valverde. But the pen got the job done.

The Tigers face the shrewd Colby Lewis tonight, a guy with average stuff at best, but who has a supreme understanding of the Art of Pitching. He gives up a lot of flyballs (30/11 fo/go), but has solidified himself as the Rangers’ ace. Though the Tigers have hit him hard. Over the past two years Lewis is 2-3 with a 7.52 ERA against Detroit. For the 2012 season he’s 2-0 with a 1.83 ERA and 22 Ks in 19 2/3 against only 1 walk.

Smyly is will be tested a bit more today than he was in his first two starts against TB and KC. Smyly will need to limit base runners, so keeping walks down will be crucial.

I’m looking for AJax to break out of this 10 game funk (6/32) today. Jackson is a career .444 hitter off of Lewis.

Well, that was quick.  The Rangers put the game away with 8 runs in the first inning before a stunned Rick Porcello could even record a second out.  The Rangers rolled to their 8th straight, beating Detroit 10-4, and have now outscored them 20-7 so far this series.

If there was a bright spot for the Tigers, it was another great outing by Duane Below, who threw 6 scoreless innings against the red-hot Rangers, the longest relief outing by a Tiger pitcher since Steve Sparks in 2003 (take away the first inning, and Below had a quality start).  Below has now thrown 10 scoreless innings, with 7 hits and no walks in 2012.

After the game the Tigers used their last option on Daniel Schlereth and dispatched him to the Mud Hens, giving RHP Thad Weber his first call up to the bigs.

Can anyone stop the Rangers right now? Sounds like a challenge Justin Verlander would relish. Fresh off of a 131-pitch complete game victory, he has actually done well against the current Texas lineup, limiting them to a combined BA of .230 and an OPS of .655.  Mike Napoli has given him the most trouble (.300/.890), and he is not in the starting lineup.  Adrian Beltre will miss the rest of the series with an injured hamstring.

Neftali Feliz won the 2010 Rookie of the Year as a closer, and is now making a go of it as a starter.  Tonight will be his 3rd major league start, and so far opponents are just hitting .209 against him.  But then he has yet to face the likes of Santiago-Kelly-Inge.

***

Breaking news:  Phil Humber of the White Sox has just completed a perfect game against the Mariners

***

Today’s Double-Headed Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch RF
3. Miguel Cabrera DH
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young LF
6. Alex Avila C
7. Ramon Santiago SS
8. Don Kelly 3B
9. Brandon Inge 2B

What would a Tigers-Rangers series be without a rainout?

Given an extra day to think about it, Leyland has decided to change the original lineup and go with the Raburn-Inge-Laird power lineup.

This probably has a little to do with what Laird does behind the plate:  Laird is turning into Rick Porcello’s personal catcher, having caught all of his starts in 2012.

Here is today’s revised lineup.  Andy Dirks is day-to-day, but has been ruled out for today.

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch RF
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Ryan Raburn LF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Brandon Inge 2B
9. Gerald Laird C