Coke Gives Tigers No Reason To Smile

The question of what do about Phil Coke isn't just being discussed by Detroit fans, it's also a topic of conversation for the Tigers' brass.

Coke turned in another winless outing, getting beat up for 10 hits and eight runs (seven earned) in four innings as the New York Mets trounced Detroit a second straight day, 16-9.

That's 12 winless starts in a row since Coke recorded his only victory as a starter this year, when he threw seven shutout innings April 14.

"We're tossing some things around," was all manager Jim Leyland would say on the subject. "We'll leave it at that right now."

The most obvious thing for Detroit to do would be to put Coke back in the bullpen, a role he filled very well last year, and replace him with another lefty, rookie Charlie Furbush.

So far Furbush has been used mostly in long relief by Leyland after beginning the season in the rotation for Class AAA Toledo. Furbush throws hard enough and has a nice complement of pitches to play off his fastball.

He has looked like a better alternative than Andy Oliver, who has struggled since going back to Toledo following a brief stint with the Tigers while Coke was hurt.

Coke seems resigned to the end of his days as a starter.

"I'm at the team's disposal," he said. "I'll do whatever they want me to do."

What they don't want him to do is keep turning in winless starts.

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