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Detroit Tigers links: The Tigers are in trouble

After losing three straight games prior to the All-Star break, the Tigers don't have much more time to waste if they want to stay in contention.

By Rob Rogacki
Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports

It all started so promising. With a chance to make up ground on the Minnesota Twins in the division prior to the All-Star break, the Tigers were in a great position. David Price carried them to a win in game one of the series, and Justin Verlander's bounce-back outing saw the Tigers ahead 6-1 in the bottom of the ninth of game two.

We know what happened after that.

Now, the Tigers are nine games back of the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central race, and 3 1/2 games back of the Twins for the second wild card spot. The last time the Tigers were this far behind at the All-Star break was in 2005, when they went 71-91 and finished in fourth place. Even in the disappointing 2008 season, a year that feels eerily similar to this one, they were only 6 1/2 games back at the break.

Now, the Tigers are at a crossroads. MLive's Chris Iott thinks the Tigers need to win now or sell. Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News is similarly on the fence, but hints that only a balls-to-the-wall shopping spree is enough to get these Tigers back on track. Neil Weinberg was leaning towards selling before the weekend collapse, and Drew Sharp is jumping ship as fast as he can.

In other words, things are bad. But hey, at least we have Astro for another couple months (or weeks).

What Do We Know About the 2015 Tigers? - New English D, Neil Weinberg
Neil nails it with the header "They can't pitch."

Late Heroics Lift Royals to Wild 11-10 Victory - Royals Review, Ryan Landreth
#RoyalsDevilMagic is real, y'all.

Sonny Gray silences woeful Cleveland Indians offense - Let's Go Tribe, Andrew Kinsman
At least Sonny Gray is doing this to everyone. The Tribe are two games behind the Tigers and 11 back of the Royals.

Sano, Plouffe homer to back seven strong innings from Kyle Gibson, Twins beat Tigers 7-1 - Twinkie Town, Jesse Lund
Sigh.

Cubs 3, White Sox 1: Jake Arrieta stops a sweep - South Side Sox, Jim Margalus
The White Sox are 7-3 in their last 10 games and are now tied with the Indians in the division standings.

Megan Rapinoe throws out first pitch at Mariners game, rules at everything - SB Nation, Jacob Price
There were several awesome first pitches over the weekend, but nothing beats when World Cup champions do it.

Miami Marlins' Steve Cishek, Dan Haren drawing interest - MLB Daily Dish, Scott Gelman
Color me unenthused about acquiring either of these guys.

Front Office Ratings, By the Community - FanGraphs, Jeff Sullivan
Surprisingly, the Tigers only finished in the middle of the pack.

Kyle Schwarber jump-starts U.S. rout of World - MLB.com, Mark Sheldon
Joe Jimenez, the Tigers' lone representative, looked impressive in his appearance in the Futures Game.

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