From Jason Beck's mailbag:

"As long as I can remember, it always seems that the team goes into a "swoon" in August. I am a relatively young fan, but both my parents say that this is something that has been going on for years. Is there any truth to this?
-- Tom S., Seymour, Conn.

It's true. The Tigers have had a winning record for August just once since the strike-shortened 1994 season. That exception came in 2000, when the Phil Garner-led Tigers made a late charge after a terrible start to get over .500 in early September and put themselves on the fringe of playoff contention before falling back over the final couple weeks.

Last year's Tigers went 11-18 in August. Detroit went 13-16 in August of 2006. The Tigers went 13-13 in August of 2005 to get within a game of .500 on Aug. 23, but went into a tailspin over the final month."