Pic of the Week

Me and my shadow: Rajai Davis
of the Detroit Tigers reaches in
vain for Mike Zunino's RBI double
on Monday,

It's a good enough photo by itself with the shadow play behind Rajai Davis, but I picked this one in part to serve as a platform to comment on the Detroit Tigers.

With the nonwaiver trade deadline fast approaching, it's possible that we're seeing the end of an era in Detroit. The minuses are piling up for the Tigers: They're basically playing .500 ball or a bit less than that. Miguel Cabrera is injured. Justin Verlander has made just seven starts, and the Tigers haven't won any of them. The bullpen is (again) a problem. The rotation other than free-agent-to-be David Price is a mess.The farm system is widely considered to be barren. And, looking to the future, the day of reckoning for some long and sizable contracts is coming.

All that has created a sense that the Tigers will be peddling Price and Yoenis Cepedes, also due for free agency this month.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Remember: Mike Ilitch is 86 and wants a World Series title before he dies. This is not an owner with a timeline for rebuilding. The Tigers aren't THAT far out of a playoff spot, and I rather suspect that the fact that one of the teams they need to catch to get into the October tournament is the Twins is something of an encouragement for them.

They are, I think, more likely to keep Price and Cepedes, hope they can snag one of the wildcard berths and strive to do with that opening what the Kansas City Royals did last season. Then they'll make qualifying offers to Price and Cepedes and at least collect the draft picks should they sign elsewhere. The future is now for the Tigers, even if now isn't as promising as they expected coming into the season.