At Some Point, This Detroit Tigers Start Stops Being Cute

Okay. Okay. I have refused to panic despite the embarrassing and inexcusable start by the Detroit Tigers to the 2008 Major League Baseball season. Despite the 0-7 start, I wasn't calling for the Tigers to make a major trade or fire Jim Leyland or anything extreme (aside, of course, from believing the Tigers should let phenom Rick Porcello replace Dontrelle Willis for two starts while Willis is on the Disabled List). After all, the Tigers will turn it around because they will start hitting. These players are too good not to hit. And everyone is banged up a bit, from Placido Poloanco's back to Miguel Cabrera's quadriceps, to Gary Sheffield's finger to Dontrelle Willis' knee to Carlos Guillen's hamstring.

But, at some point, this stops being cute. At some point this stops being a slow start, and turns into a lost season. At some point, the Tigers need to, you know, win. I just turned off the Tigers after they have fallen behind 5-0 to Chicago thanks to a third inning grand slam by Paul Konerko. Nothing is going right for the Tigers right now, but who cares that Kenny Rogers just gave up a grand slam because one run is enough to beat the Tigers right now. The team was shut out three times all of last season. They've already met that mark through just 12 games. And let's not get started on the almost 20 double plays the team has already hit into, almost a half dozen of which have been with the bases loaded.

I still don't want to panic. We still have only played 13 games which in a 162-contest season is practically nothing. But what is so worrisome is that the Tigers are showing no signs of breaking out of their so far season-long funk. And if they don't soon, this season will be too far gone for any late season surge to save them.

4:00 Update: So, having turned off the Tigers game to watch The Masters, I missed the second Chicago White Sox grand slam of the game, which now puts them up 11-0 over the Tigers. Two grand slams in three innings. Wow. And the Tigers still don't have a run. And apparently, Miguel Cabrera botched another play at third base, tripping over the umpire while allowing a pop-up to fall into fair territory. I'm almost at a loss for words at this point.