Don't Jump Off the Wagon... Yet.

Alright, after viewing today's Tigers game vs. the White Sox this afternoon: via my television and through the world of Twitter, I've noticed amongst the masses of Tigers Tweeps that because of recent history of this franchise, notably from 2006-10 (omitting 2008), it's time to give up on the team because... they're a terrible second-half baseball team.

Fine. Except, even through my pessimistic mind, I have to remember that it's only the middle of July and I can't write this team off yet.  That's very dangerous.  For Example, I wrote off the Minnesota Twins on May 24th, when they were about 20 games under .500.  As of the start of action today, they were just 7 games south of .500, giving their droves of fans reason to cheer that their scrappy ball club can be a contender down the stretch.  That said, we all can't just write off the Tigers just because they came out of the All Star break with 2 losses.  Teams lose two in a row.  It happens.  That same rationale has proven that even Justin Verlander can lose, as has been proven 5 times this season.  As I type this out, the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians lost their game to the Orioles tonight, thus leaving the Tigers a mere 1 game behind them in the Central race.  Awfully hard to write off a team who's that close.

Sure, the Tigers are a flawed team.  Last I checked, every team in the division is flawed.  But for the Tigers, they have issues to fix - pitching and a couple of infield spots.  And while the offense has been lacking for the last couple of games, for the most part, minus a little consistency, has been there for the Tigers.  Going into action today they had 5 guys in the lineup batting at least .300.  People say pitching and defense win championships, and the Tigers are struggling in both.  They are the 4th worst fielding team in the AL, and their bullpen has been hopelessly inconsistent this season.  Jose Valverde might be perfect in saves/chances this season, but it's not without a challenge.  And when he is placed in the game that isn't a save chance (like today), he struggles.  The Tigers will likely try to add an arm for the rotation, which for right now lacks a mediocre 5th starter.  We'll be hearing a lot of rumors before the trade deadline, which occurs at the end of the month.

It's easier said than done, but what the Tigers must do down the stretch is simple.  Play consistent baseball, pitch well, and make sure Jim Leyland doesn't outmanage himself before any of these games start.  Because if this team does finish off another second-half fade away, it'll all be on Leyland - the orchestrator of all those second-half failures of recent years gone by.  Tigers fans all over have been calling for his head most of the season (myself included), but he needs to prove he can actually manage from ahead.  Because we as Tigers fans have seen him try and manage from behind for a few too many years now.