×

Believe it: Tigers are that bad

It’s way too early to make any predictions in the major league baseball season.

But this is one I’ll post one right now.

The Detroit Tigers are going to have a very rough year.

The only reason the Tigers won’t lose 100 games is because they play in baseball’s weakest division, the American League Central.

The Cleveland Indians are far from being dominant in this division, but they still have enough pitching to hold off an improving Chicago White Sox club.

Actually, Detroit isn’t far behind Kansas City and Minnesota when it comes to talent. That tells you volumes about those two teams

But what the Tigers have let loose over the past four seasons is mind-boggling.

In the pitching department, the Motowners have moved out Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and David Price.

All four of those hurlers have won Cy Young awards over the past few years — and all four are still very capable with good teams behind them.

Verlander, for one, made it clear he would rather finish his career in Detroit. But management made up vague reasons for letting him sign with Houston, where he already has won a World Series ring.

Another one of the really bad moves was trading slugging outfielder J.D Martinez to Arizona. He quickly moved to Houston and had a MVP-type season in 2018.

Did the Tigers really get anything in return for losing that much talent? Not really.

Pitcher Michael Fulmer appeared to have the most upside, and now he’s lost for this season with arm problems.

This year’s team, meanwhile, consists of rookies, has-beens and never-weres.

Sure, fading Miguel Cabrera is still around. But he’s just a shadow of his former self. Nick Castellanos is a good hitter, but he’s already on inept general manager Al Avila’s trade list.

And what was Avila thinking when he signed Pittsburgh’s double-play combination of Justin Harrison and Jordy Mercer?

What did those dynamic two ever do for the lowly Pirates?

I’ve been a Tigers fan since the mid-1950s, having gone through a number of rough seasons.

If you want to see (former) Tigers stars, go to Boston, which has done fine with them. The Red Sox even signed ex-Detroit announcer Mario Impemba.

I don’t believe you could pay me to attend a game in Detroit in 2019 unless Boston was in town ….

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today