It’s still early, but after 28 games, I’m sure most Tiger fans thought that their beloved Bengals would be much better than a .500 club.
Even with a difficult schedule, conventional wisdom was that Detroit would out-slug their opposition.
Thus far, the Tigers have had a lengthy power outage (too many solo home runs), back-of-the bullpen-blues and difficulty scoring runs. Watching this team try to manufacture runs is just painful.
As early as it is, you have to believe that eventually the bats will boom, the bullpen will settle down and the runs will begin to pile up.
My biggest concern is that Brennan Boesch, Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta already appear gassed, confused and extremely frustrated. Leaving me wondering if the 2011 season was their last hurrah -- the best we’re ever going to see from them in a Tigers uniform.
I’m not trying to press the panic button. Boesch is young and hitters go through tough stages early in their careers. But hitting in front of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder should have had Boesch bashing the ball all over the park, not being dropped from the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
Avila looks worn out, and his energy level is anemic. Perhaps he can be used at DH a little more to work out his hitting woes and alleviate the physical/mental demands of being a major-league catcher.
Gerald Laird is fine behind the plate, but can the Tigers absorb G-Money’s insipid offense? They might not have a choice. Avila needs help.
At this stage in his profession, Peralta has pretty much leveled out. His power numbers from last season rivaled his career best and his .299 batting average was the highest of his major-league career.
Peralta has one home run and driven in nine runs while hitting .269 this season, which is one point higher than his career average. He’s projected to hit .269 this season with six homers and 52 RBI.
Over the course of the season, things tend to work themselves out.Detroit’s best players are proven major-league talents. They will rise to the top individually.
It’s the consistency of Detroit’s supporting cast that will determine if they rise to the top as a team.
