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Detroit Tigers Team Notes Over 3 Million Views!!! Thankyou!

http://www.freep.com/article/20140811/COL38/308110159/detroit-tigers-playoffs
I'm no longer confident in the Detroit Tigers' playoff chances.
freep

The Tigers were 14-13 in June, 13-13 in July and they have started this month 5-5.

The Tigers are beat up, struggling and looking for answers. The Tigers are 10-14 since the All-Star break. The Royals are 15-8.

In the first 91 games of the year, the Tigers had a .280 batting average. Since then, the Tigers have hit .250. During this tailspin, the Tigers are hitting fewer homers, driving in fewer runs and striking out more often.

This isn?t one player going into a slump. It?s an entire team. That?s the fast way to drop a 7?-game lead.

Before the All-Star game, the Tigers were averaging 4.8 runs per game. Since then, the Tigers are averaging exactly one less run per game at 3.8 rpg.
 
http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2014/08/justin_verlander_leaves_game_i.html
Justin Verlander leaves game in second inning due to soreness in his right shoulder.
mlive

http://www.freep.com/article/20140811/SPORTS02/308110197/justin-verlander-shoulder-soreness
Tigers' Justin Verlander exits start with right shoulder soreness.
freep

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...nder-leaves-game-due-right-shoulder-stiffness
Tigers' Justin Verlander leaves game due to right shoulder stiffness.
detnews

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/det...md=20140811&content_id=89127054&vkey=news_det
Verlander exits with right shoulder soreness.
Right-hander allowed five runs, four earned, in one frame vs. Bucs.
Tigers official site
 
Dirks' injury not as serious as originally thought.
A setback in rehab might not keep Tigers outfielder Andy Dirks out as long as previously feared.

"I would anticipate he'll be out playing sometime this week," Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "It's not a major hamstring problem. It's more of a grab and a little bit of a strain."

Dirks, out since early March following surgery to repair a damaged disc in his back, has been stop-and-go on a rehab assignment since the start of July. His latest setback has nothing to do with the back, but a hamstring he tweaked playing the outfield last week, but it was enough of a concern that the Tigers pulled him back from his rehab assignment.

Because he was pulled back from rehab, he can restart his assignment in the coming days with the full 20 days allowed. That would take him past Sept. 1, when Major League rosters expand. Even if he isn't with the Tigers by the end of August, he can be eligible for postseason play, since he was on the disabled list.

"We're still hopeful," Dombrowski said, "but again, we haven't been successful in him getting back. But we're hopeful he can still come back. Now we're talking the first of September, really, when he's ready."
Tigers official site
 
Whelan grateful for chance to pitch for Tigers. Whelan tallied 20 saves with Toledo before getting the call.
Kevin Whelan was once a fresh-faced kid out of Texas A&M with dreams of pitching in the big leagues for the Tigers. That, however, was a long time ago.

Much more recently, he was praying just to be able to pitch again.

"It was kind of to the point really this year where I didn't know if I was going to play again, and then got an opportunity with Detroit," he said. "And really, I just sat down and prayed about it with my wife and didn't worry about it, and said, 'If this is our last year, then let's go at it 100 percent.' And things have worked out so far.

When Whelan signed a Minor League contract with the Tigers in the offseason, it wasn't just a reunion. It was a last shot. With a 4.97 ERA at Triple-A Louisville last year, a dramatically lower strikeout rate, a high home-run rate and major surgery in his history, he had no other contract offers.

He didn't look like the pitcher who made it to the Yankees' bullpen for a brief stint in 2011 before undergoing surgery for a torn flexor tendon and bone chip around his right elbow the following year. He didn't feel pain, he said, but he didn't feel normal.

He felt his arm improving at the end of last season, but he needed someone to take a chance. Fortunately, he still had ties to Tigers officials who were in search of pitchers to fill their organizational depth.

"I reached out to [farm director] Dan Lunetta and just asked him for an opportunity," he said.

It took a lot of circumstances, from injuries in the Detroit bullpen to struggles by relievers in Toledo, but Whelan got his shot and rolled. He has 20 saves for Triple-A Toledo, having allowed eight runs on 26 hits over 39 innings with 48 strikeouts.

His splitter is getting swings and misses as well as groundouts. His fastball has new life.

"The split is the pitch," manager Brad Ausmus said. "And really, his numbers speak for themselves."

The final hurdle was a Tigers team in desperate need of fresh arms following a 19-inning marathon loss in Toronto. With that, Detroit purchased his contract and brought him up.

"It was a long road," Whelan said. "I'm just thankful for the opportunity and just very blessed."
Tigers official site
 
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