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After slow start, Tigers finding their way…slowly
By Tom Zulewski June 17, 2008 |
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The Detroit Tigers were heavily hyped in the offseason for the wheeling and dealing the organization did. After all, there was reason for excitement after the team landed Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in a trade with the Florida Marlins. But then came the season. It was, to put it mildly, a little hard for Tiger fans to take. They opened the year with seven straight losses. They were swept at home by both the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox – division foes, no less. Without leadoff hitter and catalyst Curtis Granderson, the team was hurting. Willis wasn’t panning out, walking way too many batters – he’s now in the minors. Cabrera switched from his natural third-base position to first base to shake things up. So far, heading into this interleague series with the San Francisco Giants, the additional changes the team has made are helping to turn the corner toward the heights everyone – pundits and fans alike – expected and demanded. Since the season-opening skid, for instance, the Tigers are 33-31, two games over .500. That’s far from stellar, but then again, the AL Central isn’t exactly turning the baseball world on its ear. The bullpen, once dominant in 2006, has two of its key weapons on the way back to full health. Granted, Fernando Rodney gave up the carnage that led to the Giants’ win in the series opener at AT&T Park Monday night, but you can’t expect perfection out of the box when Rodney’s throwing shoulder was bothering him as long as it was. And Joel Zumaya – Mr. Zoom-Zoom himself – has been doing the job with the Tigers’ minor-league clubs in his rehab assignment. At Triple-A Toledo, for instance, he has allowed only one earned run in four innings of work (three appearances since June 8.). Add in starter Kenny Rogers’ stellar mound efforts of late – his ERA has plunged more than two runs, from 6.66 on May 21 to 4.63 heading into Tuesday’s start against the Giants – and there’s reason for the faithful to believe again. With Tuesday’s start figured in, Rogers has allowed exactly four earned runs in his last 36 innings of work, an ERA of 1.00 covering five starts. He’s also worked into the seventh inning every time. It’s certainly cause for the bullpen to holler a big “thank you.” After all, hitting and offense may be pretty to watch, but you have to have the pitching and defense to back it up and push you over the top. The Detroit Tigers, for all the shakiness they had at the beginning of the year, are at least starting the long, hard climb back up the mountain. May the push take flight and tell the skeptics that 2006 was far from a fluke. |
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