44-42 that is the record the Detroit Tigers amassed in the first half of the 2012 season. The second half of the 2012 MLB season starts tonight with a three game road trip to Baltimore. It will continue next week with a four game set at home versus the Los Angeles Angels. The Tigers are riding a five game win streak, and need to go out and earn series victories to help get them back towards the top of the American League Central. The problem there is this team has had more than a few second half let downs, 2011 being the exception. They will also be working against an All Star break that didn’t work out so great, even though Prince Fielder became the first Tigers player to win the Home Run Derby.
Last year the Tigers got the second half of the season started off poorly with two straight loses to the Chicago White Sox. They would not get hot till later in the summer. This year the need for a long winning streak seems far more important. The Tigers are in third place, 3.5 games behind the White Sox. The Tigers get them at home for three games at the end of next week, and then the following week get three more against the Cleveland Indians on the road. This is going to be the next bench mark for this team.
The next 13 games will tell us a lot about this team. So far in 2012 Tigers are just 1-5 against the Indians and 4-4 against the White Sox. That ratio will need to increase if this team wants to win this division. Again for the staff of DJC merely making the playoffs is not the ultimate goal. A sustained long drive this fall is the expectation of this team and it seems the players, coaches, and front office has some work to do to get that goal firmly in their sights.
They are two and a half weeks from the trade deadline. It seems that there is not a second baseman on the market that the front office is willing to deal for. That means this team needs to add a starting arm to the mix. Since we are still very unsure of what the team has in Doug Fister. If he can go on a run like he did last year after being dealt toDetroitat the trade deadline this team looks a whole lot better. However with the frustratingly inconsistent Rick Porcello and the young Drew Smyly in the starting rotation adding a veteran arm seems to be the best way to improve this team. DJC also believes that the Tigers should at least look at adding one more corner outfielder. Sure it is a bit crowded out there, but an upgrade seems to be in order.
The point here being the Tigers already made a mistake standing pat at the beginning of free agency last off season. They signed Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta on the first day of free agency, when upgrades were needed. Sure, they eventually got Prince Fielder but after they lost the far more valuable Victor Martinez. Hopefully they will not make the same mistake at the 2012 trade deadline.
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