Detroit Tigers first half report cards

Bullpen: B

If the season was just one month long, the bullpen would have had a first-half grade of an F. There were terrible the first two weeks of the season. Nobody could throw strikes. Up until recently, it had gotten its act together.

From April 15 to June 15, the Tigers bullpen had an ERA of 3.40, good for eighth in the league. Over the last week, it has an ERA of 4.76. Again, part of that is because they are taxed and have had to eat more innings than they should have, but they have started to show cracks.

The All-Star break should help with that a little bit, as should the return of several starting pitchers. But that turnaround over the previous two months was quite impressive.

Chris Fetter, Juan Nieves, and Robin Lund have done a stellar job with what they've been given. Heck, they made Tyler Holton into a shutdown lefty. Who saw that coming?

Jason Foley has been unreal. His ability to induce groundballs at an insane rate is just ridiculous.

Alex Lange has struggled recently, but his stuff is just as good as anyone in baseball. If they can get him to throw strikes consistently, look out.

The Tigers bullpen has been pretty good overall. They get a solid B for the first half.