Jeremy Bonderman will ponder his future this off-season (Source: YardBarker.com)

What figured to be an interesting off-season may have just gotten a little more interesting.

The expiration of Jeremy Bonderman’s contract is one of the reasons the Tigers will have some cash to spend heading into 2011. Whether or not the Tigers 2011 roster will include Bonderman is already up for debate but now there are doubts that Bonderman will play at all next season.

In a Detroit Free Press article, Bondo acknowledged that he thought about retiring because of his previous injuries and that the option will be on the table this off-season. His other options? Hoping the Tigers offer a contract and re-signing or signing with another team closer to his home in Washington.

Hoping the Tigers offer him a contract? Apparently the Tigers organization hasn’t tipped their hand to even their own free agents to be. Bonderman’s words indicate a lack of leverage in contract negotiations. Beyond that, they indicate a half-hearted desire for a new contract.

Jeremy’s on-field performance may be enough to warrant a return to the Tigers (at a reduced price, of course) but is it wise to invest in a man that is on the fence about playing? Major League Baseball’s 162 game schedule is a mental and physical grind that requires every player to be fully on board. If Bondo has one foot out then the Tigers need to look elsewhere to fill the bottom of their rotation.

You can bet that Dave Dombrowski will be cautious if he decides to proceed with a contract Jeremy Bonderman, a player for which he has already given one contract that received major scrutiny. Dombrowski can’t afford to get burned again.

Jeff Frazier’s two home runs weren’t enough for a win on July 16 as Casey Fien took the loss in relief. Armando Galarraga pitched the middle three innings without allowing a run. The Mud Hens got plenty of offense a day later when Scott Sizemore, Jeff Frazier, and Ben Guez each had three hits including a Homer and Casper Wells added a home run of his own. L.J Gagnier pitched well in the series finale but took the loss when the offense wasted Jeff Larish’s four hit day.

Erie SeaWolves (38-57)
July 16 @ Akron, L 1-8 (WP: P. Espino; LP: B. Brown) Recap Box
July 17 @ Akron, L 5-6 (WP: B. Price; LP: Z. Simons; SV: Z. Putnam) Recap Box
July 18 @ Akron, L 2-11 (WP: S. Barnes; LP: T. Weber)

A combination of poor hitting and poor pitching has made for a rough season for the SeaWolves. Charlie Furbush made his worst start since being promoted from Lakeland but avoided a loss with some offensive help from Andy Dirks, Cale Iorg, and Cesar Nicolas. Zach Simons entered for Furbush and allowed the game tying run in the seventh and gave up the game winning run in the eighth to finish off the 6-5 loss.

(more after the jump)

Lakeland Flying Tigers (7-15 2nd Half Record)
July 16 vs. Palm Beach, L 0-5 (WP: K. Thomas; LP: B. Villarreal; SV: D. Carpenter)
July 16 vs. Palm Beach, L 1-8 (WP: J. Bradford; LP: M. Sorensen)
July 17 vs. Palm Beach, W 6-2 (WP: A. Wilk; LP: S. Schneider)
July 18 @ Fort Myers, L 0-1 (WP: M. Tarsi; LP: J. Kibler; SV: M. Allen)

The Flying Tigers came up short in a double header with Palm Beach because they managed only seven hits in the two games combined. Bryan Villarreal pitched well enough to win the opener but the offense couldn’t support him. The bats picked up to beat Palm Beach in the final game of the series; Brandon Douglas, Bryan Holaday, and Francisco Martinez each had two hits. Adam Wilk pitched six innings for the win.

West Michigan Whitecaps (7-16 2nd Half Record)
July 16 @ Clinton, L 5-11 (WP: T. Stanton; LP: L. Sanz)
July 17 @ Kane County, L 3-7 (WP: D. Straily; LP: G. Soto; SV: J. Guzman)
July 18 @ Kane County, L 3-4 (WP: B. Schultz; LP: T. Feeney; SV: A. Huttenlocker)

Luis Angel Sanz got beat up by the Clinton Lumber Kings and failed to get out of the first inning. Sanz has pitched well in the New York Penn League but has struggled in this appearances with West Michigan the last two seasons. Wade Gaynor is a name that has appeared in this space a lot lately. He earned it again with a hit and an RBI in each game played between July 16 and 18.

Connecticut Tigers (15-15)
July 16 vs. State College, W 2-1 (WP: P. Cooper; LP: Q. Miller; SV: M. Torrealba)
July 17 @ Hudson Valley, L 2-10 (WP: A. Liberatore; LP: R. Guichardo; SV: R. Dickmann)
July 18 @ Hudson Valley, L 5-9 (WP: K. Kelly; LP: J. Carreno; SV: S. Hiscock)

Two first inning runs from Alexander Nunez and Josh Ashenbrenner were enough for a win over State College thanks to the pitching efforts of Patrick Cooper and Michael Torrealba. An all-around bad pitching performance lead to an ugly opener with Hudson Valley. The second game wasn’t much better after Josue Cerreno allowed six runs in the second inning.

GCL Tigers (12-12)
July 16 @ GCL Yankees, W 3-0 (WP: R. Lebron; LP: J. Arias; SV: B. Rondon)
July 17 vs. GCL Yankees, L 2-3 (WP: J. Quintana; LP: F. Celis)

Ramon Lebron dominated the GCL Yankees over the course of seven shutout innings that included ten strikeouts. Lebron struggled as a member of the Whitecaps earlier in the year but has not allowed a run in his 16 innings in the Gulf Coast League. An unearned run lead to an 11 inning loss on July 17. Dixon Machado and Edwin Gomez had two hits apiece.

Fans looking for reasons to doubt the Tigers ability to reach the post season need look no further than Saturday’s doubleheader.

When you give your ace a three run lead before he takes the mound in one game and a recently recalled youngster gives you eight innings of one run ball in the other game there is no excuse for coming up empty against a last place team.

But that is exactly what happened.

This series was supposed to be a golden opportunity for the Tigers to seize control of the AL Central. The red hot White Sox have dropped two of their first three games with the Twins but their division lead has actually increased because of the Tigers disappointing 0-3 second half start.

The Tigers have just 16 road wins on the year, the lowest total of all AL Central teams. Their poor play away from Comerica Park hasn’t been helped by the Indians whose outfielders might more appropriately be named Hoover, Bissell, and Dyson. The Oreck XL at third base hasn’t helped the Tigers cause as the 6-4-3 double play has kept the Indians pitchers away from major damage.

If you sense a tone of frustration, you would be right. I apologize if you came looking for some cheers and jeers but I don’t see any reason to celebrate any individual accomplishments and singling out a few for jeers would be a futile effort. This series has been a complete failure, no matter what happens on Sunday afternoon.