Enough Is Enough

Rob Sanford

6 losses in a row....swept by the Mariners and Indians. You can't win a pennant this early....but you can lose one and that's what is facing the Tigers. To make matters even worse the Yankees are in town. Sunday was a game the Tigers could not lose and did and now will panic set in?? Probably with fans that's the case but you can't afford that if you're Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski. Now is the time to show true leadership and you don't do that by wholesale desperate changes. To do that is to tell the team you have no confidence in them and you don't have their back....you're more worried about your job as a manager. I'm not saying everything is fine, but maybe a closed-door meeting and time to look into the mirror and asking "Am I doing what I can to help us win?? If the Tigers go another week without winning...any postseason dreams will seem like a long way off.

As for throwing at the oppositions hitters..I'm not entirely against it. Sunday's game showed evidence of that as Detroit perhaps was showing its frustration. I don't agree to throw at anyone's head...but there's nothing wrong with planting a seed in the hitters mind. Friday and Saturday it was clear Indian hitters came to the plate with no fear and simply blasted away. Yes they are hot, yes their pitching was impressive, but you can't let your opponent simply dig-in. It's time to announce to the American League you won't be pushed around.

Going into the Cleveland series, the Tiger's bullpen was the worst in the league with an ERA well over 5.00. While blame falls on many different areas let's not forget the importance of keeping the game close to give your hitters a chance to comeback. That hasn't been happening, with total collapses happening in the latter innings. There were signs of things turning around in the last few days, but that has to continue.