Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Around the division: Tigers

The Twins enter today with a 6-2 record. So do the Tigers.

Detroit's 6-2 record, however, comes against softer competition, at least on paper. The Twins have played the Angels (four games), the White Sox (three games) and the Red Sox (one game); the Tigers have played Kansas City (five games) and Cleveland (three games).

Of course, one plays the schedule they're given, and the Tigers have won the games they've been scheduled to play.

But they can't feel all that good about Dontrelle Willis at this point. The D-Train (above) made his second start Tuesday — both against Kansas City — and while he hasn't walked the ball park either time, his command has been poor. On Tuesday he continually fell behind in the count, and even against the weak-hitting Royals, that's no way to pitch.

He didn't get tagged with the loss because the Tigers beat up on the Royals bullpen for six runs in the seventh inning. Late comebacks have been a regular feature of the Detroit season so far.

This may say something about their hitters. Or it may say more about the relief pitchers for Kansas City and Cleveland. And it may say something about the Detroit starters, who were supposed to be one of their strong points.


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