The Detroit Tigers and their offensive explosion

Sure May the first is way too early to brag about what a team can do one the field of play. Sure the standings still mean nothing, there are still so many games to play, but man was last night’s offensive explosion fun to watch. Not only that, but it seemed like it was something this team, and its fans, really needed.

The biggest positive, they scored five runs in the first inning. In the 22 games up to this point they had only scored 11 runs in the first inning. They got after Kansas City Royals starter Luke Hochevar early and often. In fact the five run first was the most runs the Tigers have scored in any single inning so far this year. It is the kind of offense we expected from a lineup with Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder (among others).

Of course it was just their third win in 11 tries. That is not going to win a division and it seems the team itself is having a hard time living up to the expectations of the press. I hardly believe that on May first the division is a lock. Far too many times I have seen supposed locks not perform exactly how the press thought they should. The division crown is something that has to be earned, and this team looks like a collection of talent that still need to become exactly that.

Furthermore, I don’t count the division crown as the ultimate achievement. We have the crown; it was earned last year, now I want long lasting post season runs. I will judge this team on what it does in the fall. I will judge them when they figure out a way to unseat the Texas Rangers as American League champions. I will judge this roster and this core of talent on how many rings it delivers to the city of Detroit.

With that being said there are some positive indicators here. Sure it is one game of 162. We have mentioned the offense, but Rick Porcello used 97 pitcher to go 8 innings. He had the control we have seen glimpses of in the past, and that is what will lead to more wins more than anything else. Tigers pitching Coach Jeff Jones tweaked his delivery and Porcello found instant success retiring 12 of the first 13 hitters he faced.

All in all it was a good game for the Tigers, and their fans, they showed some signs of life that frankly had been missing of late. However for the ultimate goal a lot more things are going to have to start going right. Max Scherzer needs to figure it out, Doug Fister needs to get back and be the Fister we saw last year, and hopefully Andy Dirks does not miss a lot of time with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.