A Tale of Two Tigers Teams

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Published on BleacherReport.com
(http://bleacherreport.com/articles/206727-tigers-ride-win-streak-and-1st-place-into-all-star-break)

It was the best of the season, yet it was also the worst of the season. The Detroit Tigers found themselves atop the American League Central Division heading into the second half of the season with All-Stars Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, Brandon Inge, and Curtis Granderson leading the way.

However, the magic that seemed to propel them to the top of the division seemed to diminish as well as their lead when their plaguing injuries and severe lack of offensive production rose to the surface.

After pealing off three of four wins in a recent series with the White Sox to break a tie for the division lead, Detroit went on to lose three of four in the following series against the Texas Rangers.

The seemingly only bright spot of the series for the Tigers came off the arm of Justin Verlander in a dominating 13-strikeout performance in the closing game of the series.

With Magglio Ordonez seemingly on the decline of his offensive prowess and no signs of Carlos Guillen returning to form, the lineup needs some sort of power injection to force opposing pitchers to challenge lone .300+ hitter, Miguel Cabrera.

As the trade deadline gets closer with each passing hour, the general consensus around town is that the Tigers are in desperate need of an offensive boost. Rumors surrounding slugger Adam Dunn and other potential trade candidates have yet to come to fruition.

Whether or not Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski adds another bat to the lineup still remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Tigers fans are pleading for some consistency for the ballclub as they enter the final third of the season.

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