Last year was pretty heartbreaking for Detroit Tigers fans, as they had to watch their team blow the seven-game lead they held at Labor Day. Detroit ended up tied with the Minnesota Twins but lost their one-game playoff in the 12th inning to miss out on the postseason. It was surprising that this team won as many games as they did when only two Tiger hitters had 275 at-bats and a batting average above .250. The pitching staff was a pleasant surprise though and should be strong once again in 2010. Those hurlers give this team a real chance to compete for the division.
Pitching
The Tigers shipped off Edwin Jackson to the Arizona Diamondbacks, but in return they received Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth. Scherzer should be behind ace Justin Verlander and second-year starter Rick Porcello. Verlander bounced back strong last year by going 19-9 with a 3.45 ERA. Porcello had a great rookie season, going 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA. The rest of the staff is up in the air with Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson, and Armando Galarraga all competing for a spot in the rotation. The bullpen has a lot of quality arms with Jose Valverde as the closer and setup men Joel Zumaya, Bobby Seay, and Ryan Perry.
Lineup
The lineup revolves around Miguel Cabrera, who hit .324 last year but only .233 with runners in scoring position. While he did hit 34 home runs, he needs to get the ball in play more when the team has a chance to score. The rest of the infield is full of holes. Adam Everett is a defensive specialist at short, but hasn't hit better than .239 the past four years. Brandon Inge hit 27 home runs last year, but his .230 average is a drag. Gerald Laird is the catcher, but hit just four home runs a year ago. Rookie Scott Sizemore will take over at 2B. In the outfield, Magglio Ordonez takes over his usual spot in right field and hopes to continue the momentum from his hot second half. Johnny Damon was the biggest offensive addition this year, but with most of his production last year coming at Yankee Stadium I'm anxious to see how he does away from that place. Austin Jackson will start in center.
Predictions
The MLB odds makers have this team pegged at 80.5 wins, and I think that's going to be a stretch. To find out why this team falls short, read my more detailed 2010 Detroit Tigers predictions . If you want to get my game-by-game opinions, then sign up for the baseball picks on my site and take advantage this summer.
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