Detroit Tigers or Toledo Mud Hens: Suffering Through the Injuries

It’s hard to know if it’s the Detroit Tigers or the Toledo Mud Hens playing on any given day.

Last night, the Mud Hens showed up, not the Detroit Tigers.

After the tragic 10-2 loss, it’s clear that the road to the playoffs is going to have a few more potholes along the way. (Hey, it’s Michigan, so potholes are a regular part of life…)

Since Cameron Maybin, Nick Castellanos, and Jose Iglesias went on the DL, the Tigers haven’t performed well. Maybin went on August 4, Casty on August 7, and Iggy on August 11.

Maybe Maybin should be the Tigers MVP, because the team has only won 5 games since his departure. Or, maybe the honor should go to Castellanos. Since his injury, the Tigers have won three games.

The Tigers have only scored 13 runs since Iglesias went on the DL. J.D Martinez had scored six of those runs. Victor Martinez had scored four of them. Miguel Cabrera and Jarrod Saltalamacchia have two total. The new guy, Erick Aybar, has the other one.

These are all Major Leaguers who have been in the Show for a while. Not one of the replacement players from Toledo and elsewhere have added any offense.

And, it’s getting tiring. And contagious.

Take Ian Kinsler. From the start of the season until August 4, Kinsler was batting .289 with an OPS of .833. Between August 5 and today, Kinsler has a batting average of .226 and an OPS of .686. He looks tired at the plate, but there is no way he can take a day off. The replacement players are just not there.

The veterans appear to be doing what they can. They are getting on base and they are making plays, but when nearly half of the men on the field are brand new or Triple-A call-up. This creates a conundrum of epic proportions, especially when facing a team, like the Boston Red Sox, who are loaded with veterans.

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In case you missed it, yesterday only three of the Boston Red Sox players had batting averages under .300. On the Tigers side, only three players are hitting above .300 – Miggy, V-Mart, and J.D.

There’s not much a team missing three of its big hitting starters can do in a situation like that.

On a positive note, Cameron Maybin is getting back to swinging a bat. The prediction is that he will return next week. Prior to the start of yesterday’s game against Boston, Jose Iglesias was running sprints in the outfield (I actually saw this). I’m no athletic trainer, but he wasn’t limping or rubbing his hamstrings after the handful of sprints he ran. No news on Nick, yet.

Next: Maybe It's Time to Shuffle the Batting Order

So, for a few more games we all have to suffer alongside the veteran Tigers as we anxiously await the return of the missing third of the team.