So the mystery of the Detroit Tigers’ rough start has been solved with a victory over the Boston Red Sox, in a game in which the Tigers showed us the offense for which we’ve all been waiting.  In the following one-page report, let’s look at how it happened, whether it will continue, and what we can expect for the remaining 154 games of the season

How Did It Happen?  As happy as many, including several writers on this and other websites, may be to say that the Detroit Tigers were not all they’re cracked up to be, the Tigers’ bad start actually had more to do with a confluence of unfortunate events than larger systemic issues which are unlikely to be remedied.  The biggest contributing factor had to be the injury suffered by Curtis Granderson in spring training which has kept him from playing so far this season.   The enigmatic youngster sets the table for the Tigers as a fantastic leadoff hitter on offense and stabilizes the team’s pitching and defense with his wondrous play in centerfield.  With Granderson out, the team is lost.  Throw in injuries to Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya, and this team’s pitching is hurt big time.

Will It Get Better?  Granderson’s return affects this team in every way – he is a better table-setter than Clete Thomas and Ivan Rodriguez, which helps the entire offense, and he is a better defender than Thomas and Brandon Inge, which puts less stress on Magglio Ordonez and whoever plays left field.  But this team has larger problems as well.  It wasn’t centerfield defense that caused Dontrelle Willis to walk seven batters in five innings, and the Tigers’ pitching staff as a whole has only struck out six more batters than they’ve walked.  Furthermore, Granderson can’t play first base or third base for Carlos Guillen and Miguel Cabrera, who have looked terrible and have likely cost the Tigers at least one win so far.  Rather than do the responsible thing by putting Cabrera in the outfield, benching Jacques Jones, and putting Brandon Inge at third base, the Tigers have chosen the “offense-first” approach, which means one of the few good defensive players on the team will be on the bench.

Why the Tigers Will Still Be Around in September - Pitching and defensive woes aside, this team has a New York Yankees-caliber offense, and we’ve all seen what the Yankees have managed to do with mediocre pitching and poor defense: they go to the playoffs every year.  An offense that features Gary Sheffield, Granderson, Ordonez, Cabrera, Guillen, and Placido Polanco will score plenty of runs, and should be more than enough to support a weak pitching staff.

Final Word - In case you think six games under .500 is insurmountable, go look at what the Yankees and Twins have done the last few years.  Nevertheless, it is as true now as it ever has been: offense wins games, but defense wins championships.  With that in mind, the Detroit Tigers are built to win big and win often.  But come October, this team is going to have a lot of trouble when the pitchers are lined up against each other and every inning counts.  The Tigers better be happy with a good playoff run, because that is likely all they’ll get.