Under Pressure

It seems as if everyone is talking about the Tigers' starting pitching.  Everyone, of course, except those who are actually paying attention.  There is so much talk of how high the starters' ERA is.  But those of us who actually watch the games know differently.

In the KC series, out of three games, the Tigers gave us quality starts.  The only one who failed in that endeavor was the Gambler, and he had blown his chance by the second inning.  But in the first game of that series, the much maligned Nate Robertson gave up only 2 runs in 7 innings.  In the second game, Verlander gave a solid performance, yielding 2 in 6 innings.  Skipping over Rogers, and heading to Arizona, we see that Bonderman gave up only one run in 6 innings (yes, I know, he was charged with 2 more in the 7th while he was in the dugout, but technically, that's still a QS!)  Last night Galarraga gave up two runs on only one hit through 6 innings (and those came in while he was out of the game!)

I've already written about how much better the bullpen has been recently (if you leave off Jonesy) and it's apparent that the starting pitching has come around.  So what's left as the cause for the abysmal record?  It's pretty obvious to die-hard fans.  It's the hitting.

Yes, the Tigers that we expected to see score 1000 runs are 25th overall in BA with RISP, 27th in OPS with RISP, and 28th in SLG with RISP.  Believe it or not, they are 9th in OBP overall.  So as much as we all want to call for Chuck Hernandez' head, it's not about the at-bats.  They are actually hitting fairly well (HERESY!) 

The problem with this time this year is this - they can't handle pressure.  Look back at the bullpen again.  When someone comes in with the lead and the bases empty, things MOSTLY turn out ok (again, Jonesy excepted).  When a reliever comes in with 2 men on, everything goes to hell.  With no one on base, Matt Joyce's OPS goes from .991 to 1.488.  With the bases empty, the Tigers' OPS is .728.  With RISP and 2 out, it drops to .657.

This is why the team had the players only meeting last week and why they came out of that meeting relaxed and happy instead of looking mean and glum.  They all know that once they can just ignore the pressure and play good baseball, things will come around.

Too bad they will come around much too late.