MarioImpemba.com

Chicago, Il-  Despite the Tigers loss to the White Sox on Monday, the offense showed signs of freeing itself from a season-long malaise that has plagued the club all year.  The 13 men left on base ultimately doomed the Tigers, but the 12 hits were encouraging as well as one other stat:  six walks.

The Tigers have showed signs of pressing this season.  A lineup full of high powered bats coupled with through-the-roof expectations may be one of the reasons the offense has sputtered.  Expanding the strike zone has been a problem as the Tigers are not swinging at enough strikes.  Nor are they walking enough.  Detroit entered play on Monday 12th in the American League in walks.

Miguel Cabrera has walked only 10 times this year and three were intentional.  Brennan Boesch and Delmon Young have combined for only ten walks.

Hitting coach Lloyd McClendon knows the Tigers have to change their approach if they want success.  My philosophy is simple,” he said.  “Get a good pitch and take a good swing.  I’ve preached that to everyone from my son to Prince Fielder, to Miguel Cabrera to Brian Giles.”  The lack of walks indicates the Tigers are pressing a bit.  Trying to make something happen has taken its toll on the offensive numbers.   

“We have to remain patient, “McClendon said.  “You win games by working pitch counts and getting the starter out of the game.  Your goal should be to get to the other team’s middle relief every night.”

Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols were the two biggest acquisitions in the off season.  The Angels invested heavily in one of the game’s greatest hitters.  So far he has given them a .196 average and one home run in 34 games.  He has walked only seven times.  Fielder snapped an 0-22 slump with three hits Monday night and while he has not approached the depths of Pujols’ struggles, he too has put extra pressure on himself.

So how much of the struggles these two stars have endured is due to changing leagues?  “On a scale of 1-10, I would say a five,” McClendon said.   “You put so much pressure on yourself to fit in and to contribute that you get away from doing the things that made you successful.”

We all know that Fielder will finish with numbers that reflect his first seven years in the major leagues.  Cabrera will be there at the end of the season as well.  It’s a matter of everyone around them contributing, and it all starts with getting a good pitch and taking a good swing.  Mix in a walk too.

I told the story during the broadcast today about riding the press elevator with a member of the Oakland media and he asked me what was wrong with Justin Verlander this year.  I was confused when I asked him what he meant.

"His numbers aren't as good this year," he said.

I thought it was a strange statement considering Verlander entered the game with a 3-1 record and a 2.63 ERA in his first seven starts.  Has Verlander's status in the game risen to such heights that a 2.63 ERA stinks?  Apparently.  That's the price you pay when you dominate the league and win a Cy Young and MVP Award is the same season.

Nothing Verlander does these days surprises me.  He had no-hit stuff on Sunday in Oakland and seemed to be toying with a depleted A's lineup.  Only a callus on his pitching thumb could derail him and Verlander came out after 7 innings.  Today's effort ran Verlander's streak of pitching at least six innings to 50 straight starts.  That's the longest such streak by a Tiger since 1918.  You know, when Woodrow Wilson was president.  Let that marinade for a while.

For as dominant as JV has been, April has typically been a slow month.  His career ERA in April is 4.37.  This season though, Verlander came out of the gate much better, posting a 2.41 mark in the first month. 

And if you feel the Verlander has benefited from pitching in a large ballpark like Comerica, we've got that covered too.  Sunday's win over the A's gives him victories in his last 13 straight decisions on the road.

Verlander has a reputation as an extremely hard worker who wants to make sure his game stays on top.  His results make that evident.  A true ace finds a way to get it done when his team needs him the most.  Since the start of 2011, the righty is 18-3 following a Tigers defeat.  After beating the Tigers on Saturday, the A's found out they never had a chance on Sunday.

Last week at Comerica Park, The Tigers were facing the White Sox and the offense was sputtering.  Jim Leyland decided he needed to try something different.  He turned to Gene Lamont and told him that he was going to make a change in his lineup the next day. 

That change so far has paid some rather large dividends.  Andy Dirks replaced Brennan Boesch  in the two hole and the change has given the Tigers offense a jolt.  Dirks is hitting .500 in May and has an on-base percentage of .533.

Leyland felt that Dirks gave the team a better chance of putting the ball in play more consistently and creating scoring opportunities at the top of the lineup.  He was right.  If you're going to hold the skipper responsible for the struggles, you have to acknowledge when he pushes the right buttons.  His faith in Dirks has been rewarded.

Thursday night Dirks contributed a four-hit game and helped spark the offense with a first inning home run.  He has five straight multiple hit games.  Yet, he is not the only hitter at the top of the order that is hot.  Lead off man Austin Jackson has caught fire as well.  Jackson is hitting .405 this month and has an on base percentage of .425.

For the time being the Jackson/Dirks combo has been fun to watch.   When they get on base, the big boys eat.  If they keep performing like this, they may be hard to separate.

Even though coffee shops dot every corner of downtown Seattle, Jim Leyland didn't require any caffeine to keep him up the last three nights.  The Tigers dropped two of three to the Mariners and lost the season series 5-1 in the process.

We are 30 games into the 2012 season, and the offense remains a mystery.  When the Tigers broke camp this spring, the offense figured to be the least of their worries.  Yet, as we approach mid-May, the Tigers have too many hitters sitting around .200 or below.  Collectively as a group, the lineup has not nearly hit its stride.

"We're swinging at too many balls," Leyland said during the series.  "If you expand the strike zone, the pitcher is not going to throw too many over the plate.  Why would they?"

The numbers seem to back Leyland's claim.  Through May 9th last season, the Tigers walked 121 times as a club.  Through May 9th this season, that number is down to 81.  Moreover, the club scored 162 runs at this point in 2011, compared to 124 this year.

So with a four game series in Oakland starting on Thursday night, perhaps there is some relief in sight.  Bartolo Colon will start the first game for the A's and the Tigers have historically knocked him all over the lot.  Colon gave up seven runs in 11 innings over two appearances against the Tigers last season.  His lifetime ERA vs. Detroit is 5.25.

Sooner or later the Tigers offense has to get it going.  Might as well be now.

Several years ago I was on the Tigers Winter Caravan and we made a stop in Lansing to visit some reservists who were getting ready to ship out to their assignments.  I was struck by how many were true Tigers fans and how they were sad that they would miss opening Day because of their service obligations.

There had to be away to bring Opening Day to them if they couldn't be at Comerica Park.  So, "Operation Opening Day" was hatched.  It is a DVD of all of the Opening Day coverage from our crew at Fox Sports Detroit.  The DVD is available to all military personnel and all that is needed is a valid military address. 

Tim Bryant, FSD's late Director of Media Relations, titled the project and his help in the process was invaluable.  His work, coupled with the blessing of the Tigers and MLB helped get the project off the ground.

In the meantime, "Operation Opening Day" is in it's fourth season, and I'm proud to say the Tigers are 4-0 in that stretch.  Clearly "Operation Opening Day" is the reason the Tigers have won their last four openers.

The official release and instructions on how military personnel or their families can order a copy can be found on the "Operation Opening Day 2012" page.

To those in the military, thanks for all you do.

From the day he first stepped on to a big league field, Alex Avila has had confidence.  It's a confidence born from growing up in the game. 

His father Al was a front office executive with the Marlins and is now the Tigers Assistant General Manager.  His grandfather Ralph was a long time scout for the Dodgers.  Together they own a wealth of baseball knowledge and because the family business is baseball, Alex has always felt comfortable in a major league clubhouse.

If you hang around enough, you learn without even realizing it. 

"Some of my early memories were with the Marlins," the younger Avila said.  "I would wrestle with Cliff Floyd, throw a football around with Mark Kotsay.  As a kid I didn't really care who won or lost, just being in that situation was great."

Being in that situation taught Avila a lot about how to act in a big league clubhouse. It has also taught him how fortunate he was to have the opportunity.

"I was privileged to grow up in Major League baseball like I did," he said.  "The maturity and the knowledge that I have is someting that I expected out of myself because of the privileges that I had growing up.  I was able to see at an early age what it took to get here and to stay up here.”

A big part of success in the major leagues though is mastering the mental aspect of the baseball grind.  Having two built-in advisers like his dad and grandfather has been a great help.  His dad is seated in a press box suite every night giving him a clean view of his son on the field.  His grandfather meanwhile keeps tabs on Alex and his progress at every turn.

"I still get a lot of advice from them, but they kind of let me do my thing, Avila said.   "They are there to reassure me or give me a pep talk when I need one, but they realize at this point, I know what got me here and what I need to do to stay here."

What got him here is his ability to hit and a keen baseball aptitude that allowed him to learn the catching position while playing college baseball at Alabama.  The transition from playing the hot corner to donning the mask and shin guards turned out to be a great move for Avila.

Once he arrived on the big league scene, it didn’t take long for Avila to make an impression.   He had two hits and an RBI in his debut against the Orioles and then slammed his first big league homer the next day against the Twins Anthony Swarzek.

Two years later at age 24, he was representing the American League as an All Star.

It has been a quick rise to stardom for the kid who used to play summer ball in Ann Arbor and prepped at De La Salle for a time.   It is a rise however that certainly hasn’t taken Ralph and Al Avila by surprise.

It's not often you see a player wearing a knee brace, sitting at his locker, sporting an ear to ear grin.  Especially one that deals with the day-to-day realization that he can't help his teammates win games.  Victor Martinez has reason to smile.

The Tigers DH has been sidelined this year following microfracture knee surgery to repair his ACL.  A second surgery was believed to be necessary.  It was reconstructive in nature and was to sideline Martinez for all of 2012.  In early April however, Martinez learned that a second surgery was not needed and a return to the lineup in September suddenly became possible.

Fast forward to Tuesday and Martinez sat at his locker patiently answering questions about his status.  Judging by the aforementioned smile, Martinez is optimistic that he can rejoin his teammates in time to help power a stretch run for the post-season.

"It's a little tough to see your teammates running out there every day and you can't help," he said.

Sitting around and watching games on TV is getting old. 

"You go crazy just watching the games," he said.  "I am keeping my fingers crossed.  I had a 20% chance before, now the doctors are saying I have a good chance of playing in September."

His return to the line-up would give the Tigers another potent bat to sit behind Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.  Imagine that middle of the line-up.  What Victor provided to the club last year was immeasurable.  One of the game's best hitters who came through repeatedly in the clutch.  Martinez hit .360 last September and for the season he hit .394 with runners in scoring position, tops in the American League.

Seeing Martinez return to the Tigers line-up in September would not only raise his spirits but put a smile on the faces of Tigers fans as well.

The Tigers trip to New York provided another good early season gauge as to how good the club will be in 2012.  After dropping six of seven to the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners at home, the club hit the road for a short three game trip to the Bronx.  Dropping two of three shows the Tigers still have some work to do.

It was clear the Tigers needed the offense to wake up after the last homestand.  The Delmon Young incident didn't help, but the the Tigers were much improved offensively in the the first two games of the series.  Brad Eldred made good on his first start as a Tiger, chipping in with two hits including a triple in his first at bat.  Yes, Raul Ibanez played the liner into a triple, but who's counting?

Eldred was nearing rock star status in Toledo for his Chris Shelton-like start in April.  Eldred hit 13 homers in 20 games and was hitting .388.  Danny Worth who played with Eldred for much of April in Toledo said he hadn't seen anything like it.  "It was like Prince Fielder in spring training, everyone couldn't wait to see him hit," Worth said.  "Even when he swung and missed, the crowd would ooh and ahh."

Eldred will get a chance to fill the DH role for as long as he hits.

Andy Dirks meanwhile subbed for Young in left field in the second game and took advantage of his opportunity, drilling a three-run homer off Freddy Garcia in the first inning.  The Tigers would go on to win 7-5 as Drew Smyly earned his first big league win. 

Perhaps the biggest development was Austin Jackson's bat in the first two games.  The Tigers center fielder and table-setter showed some life going 5-8 with four runs scored before C.C. Sabathia slowed him down in the finale.

Hitting coach Lloyd McClendon summed it up best when he said, "Getting Jackson on base is important because Boesch will see better pitches."  With Boesch and Jackson clicking, Cabrera and Fielder become better run producers. 

Don't read much into Prince Fielder's lack of power numbers to this point.  The Prince hit just his third homer of the season in the series finale, but Jim Leyland is not worried.  "They are staying away from him" Leyland said.  "He's not hooking those pitches for outs.  He's taking what they are giving him.  He's gotten some huge hits for us, he's not just a power hitter."

The second deck shot he tomahawked against Sabathia was encouraging.

I also had a chance to talk with Jim Kaat who was in town broadcasting the first game for the MLB Network and we chatted about Justin Verlander's evolution.  Kaat was impressed with Justin's ability to learn how to pitch and not just throw it as hard as he can.

"When I have been asked to work with pitchers in spring training, I try to find the guys that throw in the mid 90's and tell them to pitch a couple of innings at 88 MPH," he said  "You learn how to pitch instead of just throwing it by people."

That in a nutshell is what Verlander has done.

New York, NY- On the heels of a 1-6 homestand, the Tigers made plans to jet to New York hoping the road would be friendlier than the last week at home.  A lack of offense, especially in clutch situations, and sub-par performances from the rotation, has left the Tigers looking for answers.  Yes the club is still one game over .500 and yes it is still too early to jump off the nearest ledge, but this team has sky-high expectations and clearly an April shake-up was in order.

Brandon Inge’s time with the club was officially terminated when the club gave him his release following a 5-4 loss to the Mariners on Thursday.  In addition, the club promoted Brad Eldred who slugged his way into the picture with a sizzling month at Toledo.

The tortoise-like start was not Inge’s fault solely.   After a hot two weeks, Austin Jackson has cooled considerably.  Brennan Boesch is hitting only .215.  Prince Fielder has just four extra base hits the entire month and even Miguel Cabrera endured a 0-22 stretch.  The lack of offensive production on the homestand triggered the club’s reaction.

A spark is clearly needed.  Will Eldred provide it?  We’ll find out soon enough.  Jim Leyland said the 32 year-old will get some at bats immediately beginning this weekend in New York, and why not?  Eldred was toying with International League pitching at the time of his call-up.  He slammed 13 home runs with 35 RBI’s and posted a .388 average in just 20 games.

Certainly this April’s eye-popping numbers must represent the best streak of Eldred’s career, right?  Or not.

“I hit 14 home runs in April one year at Double-A,” he said.

Well then, perhaps this is a pattern.

The 6’ 6” 270 pound Eldred uses his size to his advantage.  “That’s one advantage to being a big guy,” he said.  “If you square the ball up, it will go a long way.”

The numbers were too gaudy to ignore.  The Tigers have too much invested in this team to sit by idly and let a slow April melt into a punch less May.   So Eldred gets an opportunity and a message is sent to the rest of the club.  If you can’t get the job done, we’ll look for someone who can.

Jim Leyland always says the big leagues are about production.  Plain and simple.  The sense of urgency though is different with this team.  Having the youthful Mariners walk into Comerica Park and sweep is unacceptable.  The fans are filling the park and underperforming is not an option.

When Doug Fister went down with an injury in his first start of the season, it left a rather large hole in the middle of the Tigers rotation.  The loss has been felt at times this season, but the emergence of rookie Drew Smyly has helped to cushion the blow dramatically.

Smyly has been terrific in his first three big league starts.  While he doesn't have a win to show for his efforts, the Tigers are 2-1 in his starts. 

"In fairness to the kid, we rushed him," said Jim Leyland.  "He looks like he has a chance to settle into that spot though.  We're very happy with him"

The one trait Smyly has exhibited so far is a steely confidence.  "I think I was born with that," he said.  "I've always been laid back."

Of course, enduring a spring competition with some other very talented pitchers and playing college baseball in the SEC at Arkansas has helped his confidence.  "College helped," he said.  "Playing in front of seven or eight thousand people at Arkansas is a lot for a freshman.  So was the experience of battling talents like Jacob Turner, Adam Wilk and Andy Oliver in spring training.  "Competing against top talent and players with their skill sets can only make you better," he said.

But all of those experiences can only help you so much.  You still have to perform when you get your opportunity.  For Smyly, his first opportunity came against the Tampa Bay Rays.  He promptly loaded the bases in the first inning of his first start with nobody out.  "I thought, 'you've got to be kidding me right now, this isn't the start I was hoping for'," he said.  "I just stepped off the mound and told myself to throw a strike.". Before he knew it, he has worked out of a bases loaded jam and life in the big leagues became a little less stressful.

Fast starts a great and many rookies have enjoyed them. The tough part is maintaining.  "He's going to have to adjust to the league after they see him a few times," Leyland said.

From my vantage point, that should be no problem.  Smyly not only has good poise, but good stuff as well.  Watching him develop might be one of this summer's bright spots.