Are the Tigers as bad as they are letting on?

This weekend the Detroit Tigers split a four game series with The Oakland A's in California. They dropped the last game 5-1.

The Tigers' record so far is 7-9 which is not "terrible", they have showed some shades of brilliance already. In the first game they shut out the A's 3-0 and in the second game won 8-4... They CAN beat the A's, they have had some great games so far... they have had more lousy games but... you see where I am going.

Currently they are 26th overall in ERA which is terrible, they are 15th overall in runs which tells us two things... pitching and defense, which is what wins games, is not good at all.... while offense, which is what sells tickets, is not bad but could be a lot better. Frankly speaking... the Tigers have a lot of work to do. Granted, the Tigers faced Oakland's top 2 pitchers in the four game set but still... During a pregame session with reporters Sunday morning, Leyland -- without being asked -- said, "We've got to get our offense going."

Manager, Jim Leyland has some serious things to deal with! Victor Martinez will not be catching tonight in Seattle (groin) but may DH. Magglio Ordonez may need to rest his ankle again tonight. Austin Jackson MUST start producing in the lead off position. The biggest project they have that needs to turn around is situational hitting. They reached a startling low in Oakland.

                                               Miguel Cabrera walks away from the
                                               plate after striking out in the ninth inning
                                               Sunday. Cabrera went 0-for-4 with two
                                               strikeouts. / BEN MARGOT/Associated Press


In Seattle, they will NOT be facing Cy Young award winner Felix Hernandez or Michael Pineda who was very impressive in winning his first two games. They WILL be facing Jason Vargas, who is win-less this season but tough, in tonight's game and tomorrow night they will face Doug Fister who is trying to make a name for himself and has an axe to grind in general.

The Tigers can use Seattle to build their confidence and start the upswing of their season... I think they will. I think they have a team that will do great things this year. Will they win a pennant? Maybe... maybe not, but they could! They have a strong team when it's firing on all cylinders!

Prediction: Tigers win series 2-1