What is your biggest concern with the Tigers?

[Scottwood]

And, what are you not worried about at all?

[Elevate]

Biggest concern: power outages killing us down the stretch

No worries: Justin Verlander

[1984]

Biggest Concern: Only 3 consistent Offensive players: Cabrera, Granderson, Inge.

Not Concerned: Verlander & Jackson

[McGriff4Hall]

I'm worried that Maggs won't ever hit, Edwin Jacksons era creeps back up to 4+, and that the Tigers in general have another steep second half slide. I'm not worried about Verlander or Cabrera though.

[wolverinefan]

The only thing I'm worried about at this point is how Porcello will hold up.

[kdog]

Getting slugging from the corner outfield slots is the #1 concern. I think the pitching will hold up if healthy.

[RipHam23232]

Originally Posted by 1984

Biggest Concern: Only 3 consistent Offensive players: Cabrera, Granderson, Inge.

Not Concerned: Verlander & Jackson

Ditto. All though I am slightly iffy that Jackson could fall off a bit through the second half.

[Bambino Lino]

I'd like to see a dominant pitcher who can finish a game and not rely on the bullpen. So, pretty much, trade Porcello, Perry, and Ramirez for Halladay. Then I will be able to sleep well at night.

[InfanteIago]

Pitching coming back down to earth and Zumaya not figuring things out.

[Ghostface]

Originally Posted by kdog

Getting slugging from the corner outfield slots is the #1 concern. I think the pitching will hold up if healthy.

i second

[Hongbit]

I'm concerned about pitching. JV can only pitch every 5th day, Jackson has had two horrible Septembers in a row, Porcello's innings must be managed, Gaga is mystery, and we really don't have a #5 starter as of this moment. Rodney also frightens the hell out of me every time he touches the ball.

[A.J.K.]

Magglio.

[sportz4life]

Consistent production from LF/RF/DH

Consistent quality SP from 3/4/5. Porcello looks very tired and 4/5 is already poor and inconsistent. If the #3 spot deteriorates we have issues.

Grandy versus LHP..just putrid.

Unforseen injuries.

[will the thrill]

1.Leyland losing his mind and going back to those old lineups where a rookie always batted third.
2. Curtis leading off against lefties, I know his defense keeps him in every day, but why bat a guy who is .212/.299/.329 leadoff? it leads to 0-5's like last night and an empty "table" for Cabrera
3. The bullpen. One thing I loved this weekend in Houston is when they brought in Byrdak to face a rightie and the announcers said "he's facing a righty because righties are hitting .146 against him" screw the left/right Larussa crap and manage by the numbers

I'm not concerned about Cabrera and Verlander. I think Jackson will come back to earth and finish the year around 3.30 or so, but with only getting 3 runs a game for him, his record could be terrible

[tigersrok]

1) Lack of offensive production from the corner OF spots. Maggs looks no different than he did before he was benched. I hope he is released before his option years vest and they trade for a corner OF/DH type.

2) Rotation. JV and Jackson look as if they are coming back down to earth a little bit (although still being effective pitchers.) I worry about them tiring down the stretch, because the 3/4/5 in the rotation do not inspire confidence. Porcello needs his innings watched as well.

[Bubba]

I only worry about injuries to a few players:
Verlander
Jackson
Cabrera
Granderson
Inge
Laird
and I can't believe Im writing this but, Rodney.

As for things I don't worry about, is Production from those above (Laird is there for helping our Pitchers and despite not having much offense this year, the drop off to our backups is big).

[FRM710]

Agree 100%

Originally Posted by sportz4life

Consistent production from LF/RF/DH

Consistent quality SP from 3/4/5. Porcello looks very tired and 4/5 is already poor and inconsistent. If the #3 spot deteriorates we have issues.

Grandy versus LHP..just putrid.

Unforseen injuries.

[The Truman Show]

I'm concerned that one of them will read a systematic chaos post and get discouraged.

[T.O. Tiger Fan]

Biggest concern: the lack of offense from the corner OF/DH positions.

[Tint]

My biggest concern is Tigers have not showed me they can beat the teams they are supposed to beat. Also I'm worried about post All Star game because they never have a good second half. Not worried about the defense.

[keyser343]

My biggest concern - Porcello. It may be more of a long term concern, though. The amount of baserunners he gives up is starting to catch up to him. He is also unable to get swings and misses and I wonder if his ceiling is going to be lower then we thought. His curve has been inconsistant and not very impressive for the most part. If he falters in the 2nd half, the Tigers will need to make a deal for a #3 type SP or the rotation could fall apart along with the teams chances to take the Central.

[sabretooth]

Porcello, just because of his age and inexperience. I don't think he's backsliding as much as his June stats might indicate. He's had a couple of bad starts. Hopefully a skipped start and the ASB will do him some good and give him a chance to work on his control a little bit on the side.

[The Truman Show]

Originally Posted by keyser343

My biggest concern - Porcello. It may be more of a long term concern, though. The amount of baserunners he gives up is starting to catch up to him. He is also unable to get swings and misses and I wonder if his ceiling is going to be lower then we thought. His curve has been inconsistant and not very impressive for the most part. If he falters in the 2nd half, the Tigers will need to make a deal for a #3 type SP or the rotation could fall apart along with the teams chances to take the Central.

He's 20. I don't think that the stuff he throws right now is any indication of his ceiling.

[thewave84]

My biggest concern is that Magglio's contract will vest and we will have 2 more years of this kind of play at the incredibly high price tag.

Otherwise I have low expectations on this season and I am just enjoying everything good that happens. It has been a good year!

[ballmich]

Scoring runs. At some point we need to start putting up 5 runs/game to stay in 1st place. We're about 1/4 run below that right now, and I think declining recently. It's hard to imagine that we'll win this division without improved offensive output.

[tiger337]

They need more offense. The pitching and defense has carried them so far but they will likely tire a little in the second half and they will need some more offense to make up for it. I think they'll try hard to pick up a corner outfielder before the deadline.

[apabruce]

There are many things to worry about, but in the spirit of "biggest concern" I would choose Galarraga. If he has to be replaced in the rotation, where do we go? I don't think Miner is much better, and we also need him (Miner) for resting Porcello.

I'm not worried about Cabrera.

[Shelton]

Lots of concerns:

the rotation outside of verlander and jackson

the corner OF spots

Inge's health

[Tint]

Originally Posted by Shelton

Lots of concerns:

the rotation outside of verlander and jackson

the corner OF spots

Inge's health

Is there any reason to believe he is hurt or something? Perhaps I've missed it but I haven't heart of any health issues. Though I admit he seems to be playing everyday.

[63 Tiger]

18 games (10 on the road) against NY, Boston, TB, and the Jays. MN has only 7 remaining (none against Boston or TB).

[lesgoblu02]

Originally Posted by Tint

Is there any reason to believe he is hurt or something? Perhaps I've missed it but I haven't heart of any health issues. Though I admit he seems to be playing everyday.

He's nursing a knee injury right now. He was iffy for last night according to some sources.

[MoTownTigers15]

How the bats go strong for a week than they just seem to turn it off for a week.

[Shelton]

grapes?

[Seattle Mike]

There's really only one thing to like about the Tigers overall play the last month of the season: They have some how managed to go 14-13 and maintain their Division lead at 4 games. Everything else is pretty ugly.

They've been outscored by 24 runs in June. They've allowed an OPS against of 804 and have posted a 734 OPS themselves, a dreadful diffferential of minus 70. That's the sort of profile that gets you 90 plus losses over the course of a season. Frankly, they're fortunate to have a run differential of only minus 24 for the month.

I don't care what the record says they did not play well in June. But what a blessing that the Willis and Ordonez situations did not put the team in a big hole, because riding out finished veterans often times can be so much less forgiving.

Anyway, is June a trend or just a bump in the road? For starters, it stretches credulity to think that Rodney can continue to close out every game as he did in the first half. You have to believe the number of close wins will decline.

To make up for that the Tigers are going to have to score more runs, win some games by 4 or more. How the heck are they going to do that? I guess a trade, but for whom? I think Leyland should be aggressive about platooning and match ups. Half the roster, or more, are made up of bench or roles players who can be productive if used the right way. I already mentioned what I would do in an earlier post (dump a pitcher and Anderson, call up Larish and Thomas, and platoon and job share liberally).

Going forward the rotation might even out a bit, with Jackson and Porcello leveling out but the 4th and 5th starter production improving.

[DaYooperASBDT]

Originally Posted by Shelton

grapes?

The Tigers, they can barley hit. I know for a fact that Dmitri used to take quite a few hits of the barley,
and eat two whole pizzas after each game. What a fatass.

[Shinzaki]

The merry-go-round detaches from it's base in mid cycle and twirls accross the concourse killing dozens. Irwin Allen ROCKS!!!

[MissouriKaline6]

Enough offense to overcome giving up a quick 3-4 runs early in a game.

[DaYooperASBDT]

Originally Posted by Seattle Mike

To make up for that the Tigers are going to have to score more runs, win some games by 4 or more. How the heck are they going to do that? I guess a trade, but for whom? I think Leyland should be aggressive about platooning and match ups. Half the roster, or more, are made up of bench or roles players who can be productive if used the right way. I already mentioned what I would do in an earlier post (dump a pitcher and Anderson, call up Larish and Thomas, and platoon and job share liberally)

Co-sign.

[Scottwood]

Mine are pretty simple. I think we are one starting pitcher short (and maybe Luke French solves that, I don't know.) We also have to have another corner outfielder if we want to make a run at this thing. Whether Guillen or Thames can handle the DH role, I don't know about that, either.

[Antrat]

Originally Posted by Scottwood

Mine are pretty simple. I think we are one starting pitcher short (and maybe Luke French solves that, I don't know.) We also have to have another corner outfielder if we want to make a run at this thing. Whether Guillen or Thames can handle the DH role, I don't know about that, either.

+1