Pat Caputo: All Things Considered, Tigers Have Underachieved This Season
Before this baseball season began, if we knew the following, the expectation for the Tigers would be that they'd run away with the American League Central. Or, at a minimum, be more than a few games above .500 past the midway point of the season.
— Joe Mauer would be injured for much of the first half. Justin Morneau, upon return from a severe concussion, would get off to a painfully slow start before getting injured himself. Joe Nathan would not return to form from the arm injury that cost him all of the 2010 season. The Minnesota Twins would be the worst team in baseball for the first two months of the season.
— The Chicago White Sox would have severe issues with everything from slumping hitters to bullpen woes, to an injury which cost them their most-decorated pitcher, Jake Peavy, for an extended period.
— A scenario in which Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore are far from being the Cleveland Indians' most productive position players.
— The Kansas City Royals playing like, well, the Kansas City Royals. In other words, not very well.
— Jhonny Peralta would be among the most productive shortstops, and Alex Avila among the best hitting catchers, in the American League. Victor Martinez ranked among the league leaders in batting. Justin Verlander pitching the best of any Tigers' starter since at least the mid-1980s, Jose Valverde consistently closing games. The Tigers would get a shot in the arm from an unknown reliever, Alberto Albuquerque, and Brennan Boesch would be a consistent force in the lineup.
