Tigers woes continue...

It was the start of the Interleague Play stretch for the Tigers.  First stop, Cincinnati, where they hadn't played in a few years.  The Tigers had just come off a win against Indians, and their bats seemed to be waking up a bit.  All expectations going into the series was a Tigers sweep.

Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen.

Digging themselves into a 4-0 hole, the Tigers found themselves in a familiar place.  They weren't hitting, and their pitching wasn't working.  Porcello continued his struggles giving up a 3-run HR to Votto.  He would only last 5 innings.

They started to perk up a bit.  Young hit a HR, they manufactured runs.  Before I knew it, it was 5-4.  Below had come in and was pitching a nice game.  Unfortunately he was the victum of a run as well, as the Reds took the Tigers to the 10th inning.

That's when it all fell apart.  Phil Coke came in and gave up a long shot to the corner.  Matt Young mishandled it, and the Reds had a guy on third.  After that, they used a suicide bunt to win the game.  It was a position the Tigers shouldn't have been in to begin with.

The LOB stat is one that Tigers fans are getting to know rather well.  There are many games when they rack up double digits.  In case you're not familiar with it, its Left On Base.  The single stat that gauges how many runners they leave on base at the end of each inning.  The Tigers are masters at it.

Leaving runners on base is a product of the bottom half of the lineup being filled with bad hitting.  Young, Peralta, Avila, all guys who hit last year.  This year, very little production.

But that's not their only issue.

Pitching has been very inconsistent.  Scherzer and Porcello have been wildly up and down.  Fister has bounced off and on the DL.  Verlander has started pressing and can't get a win.  The bullpen has had to come in too much, and has started to give up a lot of runs too.  Even Valverde can't barely get a save this year.

So how do they fix this?

With a new plan, a shake up, and some persistence.  They can't just approach this with a huge contract here and there.  They've had a hole at second base for the last 2 seasons.  Not hanging onto Polanco was a big mistake, but one that should have been solved a long time ago.  They bet the future of the position on Scott Sizemore, who they ended up trading when he didn't pan out.

But even that's no excuse for the condition of the team.  I fully endorsed picking up Fielder when Martinez went down, but they didn't do anything else at that point.  Replacing a .335 hitter with a .310 hitter is just plugging a hole, not upgrading the team.  Sure, looking to the future, who wouldn't want a Cabrera-Fielder-Martinez mid lineup.

But that's talk for next year.

This year they need to shake things up, and fill some holes.  Delmon Young has started to hit, but he's not good protection for Fielder.  Peralta and Boesch need to break out of their funk for good, and start hitting.  They need to find someone to play second base.  If these players can't cut it, package and trade.  Find yourself a replacement for them, fill your second base hole, and start winning games.

2012 doesn't look like the year of the Tigers.  Unfortunately, 2013 isn't either with the weak lineup.  If it takes new management, a lineup shakeup, or something else, they must act now, and not wait.  The season is nearly lost as it is.  Don't sacrifice 2013.