Detroit Tigers: It’s Not Ausmus’s Fault

In case you missed it, the Detroit Tigers seem to be the only team the Cleveland Indians can beat. In fact, the Indians have won 12 games and half of them came in their two sweeps of the lowly kitties from Detroit.

Throughout the six games, Detroit Tigers fans have been calling for the head of Brad Ausmus. But, I’m so sorry to say that these six losses have been anything but his fault. In all six games, the Tigers have sadly lost because they were out-pitched, out-hit, and out-played.

For some odd reason, the Indians are bringing out the worst of the Tigers.

Of course, there are a few exceptions. One bright spot has been Nick Castellanos, who got a hit in all of the three games in Cleveland. His three-run home run and two-out double were bright spots in a dreary day. In fact, the only game that he did not get a hit in against Cleveland was the 1-10 routing the Tigers received on April 23.

It is obvious that Jordan Zimmermann has not yet pitched against the Indians. Justin Verlander has fallen twice to the team, bringing his continued losses to Cleveland to nine. It might be time to switch up the rotation so Verlander does not have to pitch against the Tribe.

Anibal Sanchez has also pitched twice against the Indians. The Cleveland hitters have scored 14 runs during the games that Sanchez has started. Sanchez did pitch well in the last game on May 4, throwing in 7 innings and allowing 4 runs – but the offense did not show up to offer any support. (I’ll get to that later).

Michael Fulmer and Shane Greene threw in the other two games. Fulmer showed his youth today and Greene only made it into the third inning before being pulled for the blister that has kept him on the DL for the past two weeks.

Ok – to the lack of run support. The Tigers cannot get across home plate, with the exception of Castellanos. There once was a time when Miguel Cabrera completely demolished Indians’ pitching, but his bat remained quiet in Cleveland. The same went for J.D. Martinez. Even Ian Kinsler had difficulty.

The other Tigers tragedy came from baserunning. Too many men are making gaffs that are giving Cleveland too many easy outs.

These mistakes are not the fault of the manager. There is no reason at this moment to call for his head. The team needs to figure out how to beat the Indians, especially since there are 12 losses that the Indians have to other teams. Heck, the Indians were swept by the Phillies and they lost two out of three to the Twins before the Tigers came to town.

Next: Should Mike Pelfrey Stay in the Rotation

The Tigers are too good of a team to look like this on a regular basis. First, they win five in a row, then lose three to a mediocre team. This is not Brad Ausmus’s fault.