Five Biggest Disappointments

The Tigers sat at 10-7 as of my last post, but it wasn't really reason to panic.  Losing 3 out of 4 to a red-hot Rangers team isn't necessarily the end of the world.  However, the team has continued to lose, getting swept by the Mariners at home and dropping 2 out of 3 to the Yankees in the Bronx.  That impressive 9-3 start seems like ages ago as the team's record now sits at 11-11.  Yikes.

I am by no means panicking yet, as the calendar just flipped to May today.  There is still a ton of baseball to be played, and I still think the Tigers will win the division handily.  Their roster simply has more talent than those of the other AL Central teams.  That being said, these past few weeks have highlighted some flaws, and there are reasons for concern.  Here are my five most disappointing Tigers performers so far.  These are based on expectations going into the season.  For example, Daniel Schlereth has pitched very poorly, but who didn't see that one coming?

5. Brennan Boesch
Most Tigers fans expected big things from Boesch coming into 2012.  He had two fairly productive seasons under his belt and would now have the starting RF job locked up.  Batting 2nd in front of Miguel Cabrera, many predicted a breakout season from Boesch, but it hasn't quite worked that way so far.  The season is young, but a .607 OPS, 2 BBs, and 20 Ks isn't going to cut it.

4. Benoit/Valverde
The 8th/9th inning combo of Benoit and Valverde was nearly automatic in 2011.  Benoit struck out over a batting an inning, and Valverde was a perfect 49/49 in saves.  In 2012, there haven't been too many late-inning meltdowns that have fans calling for players' heads, but this duo has certainly not pitched well.  Benoit's WHIP stands at 2.25, and Papa Grande's is not much better at 1.86.

3. Anyone Playing 2nd Base
Ryan Raburn is batting .148.  Ramon Santiago is batting .158.  The now-departed Brandon Inge was batting .100.  The Tigers have plenty of quantity on their roster when it comes to rolling out options to play 2nd base, but they've yet to find any offensive production that can be considered quality.

2. Max Scherzer
I think Jim Leyland and Tigers fans are both getting tired of hearing how great Scherzer's "stuff" is when he takes the mound every fifth day.  At some point Mad Max has to find some consistency in his delivery so that his great stuff translates into great results.  We've seen Scherzer be dominant before, so it's not like it's impossible.  Still, that doesn't change the fact that he's been pretty terrible so far.

1. Delmon Young

Delmon is on this roster for his bat, which provided protection for Miguel Cabrera at the end of the season last year and was very valuable in the playoffs.  He's been mediocre at best at the plate this year, but that's not the reason Young is #1 on this list.  It's his incident last week in New York where he was arrested after allegedly being intoxicated, getting into a fight with tourists, and yelling anti-Semetic remarks.  The incident is embarrassing for the Tigers and resulted in a 7-game suspension.  It's a perfect symbol of how the past week has been for the Tigers - ugly.



Louis Lanzano - AP



Honorable Mention: Rick Porcello, Jhonny Peralta