Detroit Tigers Playoff Chances: Not til 2009

The only problem with the Tigers in their quest to win the AL Central is the fact that they can't seem to beat opposing teams in the division.

Both the White Sox and Twins have dominated them this season, and the Royals of all teams actually beat the Detroit Tigers six straight games to open the season.

The Tigers have been competitive against the AL East and the AL West, and they've dominated the National League in Interleague play, but for some reason, they do horribly against AL Central teams.

Perhaps it's because the AL Central teams like the White Sox and Twins have better bullpens and the bullpen is the Tigers' biggest weakness. That gives those teams a huge advantage in close games, many of which the Tigers have lost.

The Detroit Tigers have tried to remedy their bullpen problem by demoting Todd Jones as the closer even after he's had a fairly successful year, but Fernando Rodney doesn't have the ability to throw enough strikes to be the closer. Joel Zumaya might slide into the closer's role in place of Todd Jones, but he is nursing a sore tricep injury right now.

So what will it take for the Tigers, 5.5 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central, to beat their rivals and make up ground in the Central race?

Detroit needs to take a better hitting approach at the plate and really focus in. Too many times they leave tons of runners on base because they can do the little things like hit sacrifice flies or move runners along with fielder's choices or bunts.

Many people thought the Tigers' two close losses to the White Sox after the All-Star break signified the end of the season for Detroit's high-priced collection of former All-Stars, but losses to the Twins by the White Sox have tightened things up again in the AL Central.

The thing about thr Tigers is that for all their talent, they still haven't played up to their potential this season. Conventional wisdom says certain players will start to play up to the stats they've put up in the past and hit the way they're capable of.

The Tigers have had one of the best records in the majors over their past 40 games and if they can keep it up they have a shot to surpass the White Sox and Twins in the AL Central. People are skeptical because the Tigers often seem disjointed and too inconsistent, much like the big-hitting Yankee teams of the past couple years.

But in the end, talent always wins out, and you have to think such a talented team will be able to string more wins together and be right there at the end in the AL Central, much like the Yankees have done in the in past sneaking into the playoffs.

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