Tigers Hit Road With High Hopes

By: Mike Stone

It is fair to say that the first 41 games of the season have not gone well for the Detroit Tigers. Nobody in their wildest dreams could imagine the Tigers embarking on this ten game road trip, sitting in 3rd place with a record of 20-21. While this trip to Cleveland, Minnesota, and Boston is certainly not a make or break stretch, I think there are expectations that Tiger fans should expect their team to accomplish. Here are my six realistic road trip expectations that comprise this week's Stoney's Six Pack.

1. The Tigers need to produce with the bases loaded. They are currently last in the American League in both batting average and RBI's when they load the bases. My realistic expectation is they finish the road trip with a batting average of over .200 with the bases juiced. That may seem low, but when you are currently hitting .114 in that situation, one must crawl before they walk.

2. Believe it or not I don't think Rick Porcello is a lost cause. He will have two starts on this trip, one in Cleveland and one in Minnesota. I think it's reasonable to expect Porcello to come through with two starts where he lasts at least 6 innings. His last two starts have seen him exit after five and four frames.

3. This might be unrealistic, but I expect the organization to make a decision on a second baseman. They cannot go much longer with Ryan Raburn hitting .144 and Ramon Santiago batting a robust .183. If one of these guys cannot get it going I think it's time to either promote Danny Worth or give him the job or make a trade.

4. I would expect Alex Avila to start performing like the Alex Avila of 2011. His 2 RBI base hit (albeit a dribbler) did win the game Sunday, but he has been a colossal disappointment, hitting .212 and tying for the team lead in strikeouts with 32. It's time for Avila to produce.

5. I would expect Jim Leyland to only use Colin Balester if the Tigers are losing by 5 or more runs. The guy is a gas can and has no use to the team unless it is to save a tired bullpen.

6. And finally, with a ten game road trip, my realistic expectation is to win 2 of the 3 series or go 6-4 as a minimum. Winning on the road is never easy. The Tigers are currently 9-9 on the road; it should not be that difficult to come home with a winning road trip in their back pocket.