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See that guy in the picture? That’s outfielder Magglio Ordonez. Do you know why he is sticking his tongue out at you? Because he is not on the field driving in runs. Because the Tigers look more deserving of a berth in a trash heap than in a pennant race.

Anyone out there have any faith that the Tigers are still in a pennant race?

I certainly hope not. If so, I’m sorry to burst your soap bubble, but allow me to disillusion you. The pipe dream you were in has expired, welcome back to reality.

The Tigers are in the midst of yet another late season tumble. Need proof? Look at the standings.

52-53, eight games back of the first place Chicago White Sox. 

Perhaps someone noticed that the Tigers totally took one on the chin from the Sox in the first game of today’s double header.

The Tigers had a very slim chance to regain some ground, and credibility, with a strong showing against the White Sox this week.

That particular pipe dream evaporated after a 12-2 beat down in game one. Game two hardly looks any more promising. The Tigers will send Jeremy Bonderman to the hill, he of the 5.05 earned run average. 

You may remember I wrote back on July 28th to say that essentially the Tigers were dead in the water.

They have done little to impress since then.

They lost the final two games to the Rays since then, followed by dropping two of three in Boston to the Red Sox. 

The Tigers have now compiled a record of 4-14 since the All-Star break. That in no way smells of contention for a division crown.

The Tigers are their own worst enemy. Ordonez, Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen could not have gotten hurt at a worse time. 

Although, Inge has eaten plenty of Tums and is almost back from a broken finger already, it still reeks of too little, too late.

In addition to the injuries, the misdirection of manager Jim Leyland has been a stain on this ballclub, contributing to the two losses in Boston.

It started with the 61-pitch meltdown of closer Jose Valverde in the 6-5 victory on Friday that lead to his unavailability for the remainder of the weekend.

The repercussions from that? Leyland intentionally put the winning run on base in the ninth inning Saturday!

Was anyone surprised when the winning run scored from first on that David Ortiz double?

Finally, Valverde’s burnout meant Robbie Weinhardt was given free reign to literally throw the game away on Sunday.

I’ll slip a footnote in right here. Don Kelly put on a clinic in the outfield on Sunday, gunning down an unsuspecting Adrian Beltre at second, and making a great snow cone catch against the Green Monster late in the game. 

Kelly’s reward for his great play? On the bench for the start of both games of the double header, in favor of Ryan Raburn. 

Please someone step up again and waste your credibility defending Raburn. He still looks like a train wreck in the field, and is only hitting .210 after going hitless in the first game of the double header.

Granted, Kelly is only hitting .197 but his superior defense erases that deficit. 

Raburn’s WAR (win above replacement level player) value is -0.1, where Kelly’s is 0.1. 

So, you might disagree with much of what I say. Oh Dave, this is just the rantings and ravings of an outraged fan. 

You would be right that I am outraged. You should be too. After all, who could be happy with this club right now?

Inge might need the Tums for the calcium to help heal his hand. I need the Tums because watching this team gives me heartburn.

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The Tigers made a trade Wednesday evening to acquire a Jhonny when they should have been trying to sell a Johnny. 

David Dombrowski may yet earn the other spelling of his name. 

The Tigers floundered yet again Wednesday night, falling yet again to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The loss puts the Tigers at 51-49, in third place in the American League Central, five games back of the Chicago White Sox. 

Before the game, the Tigers acquired 3B Jhonny Peralta from the long forgotten Cleveland Indians. Peralta will be inserted into the lineup to fill the void left at third base by the injury to Brandon Inge.

My question is, why?

Coming into action on Wednesday the Tigers were 3-10 since the break, 3-11 now after Wednesday’s game. The Tigers are sliding backwards, toward .500 and have let the White Sox take control of the American League Central.

More importantly, it wasn’t just that the Tigers got nipped in a couple of close games. Some of the games were not close at all. The Tigers have played flat out awful baseball since the All-Star Break.

Then the injury bug took it’s big bite.

Inge has a broken finger. He will not be back until about the end of August.

Magglio Ordonez broke his ankle. He is listed as being out six to eight weeks, but that is overly generous. I’ll state right now that he is out for season.

And of course there is always Carlos Guillen, ever the friend of the disabled list. He will probably be out until the middle of August with another nagging leg injury, this time to his calf. He keeps working his way down the leg, from knees to hamstrings and finally a calf.

It makes me ask, what kind of spark can really be expected from Jhonny Peralta? He’s hitting .246 with 7 HR and 43 RBI. More importantly, this is the second straight season in which his offensive production has been declining, nearly across the board. 

This brings me to my main point: forget the fact that the Tigers got him for cheap, why are they buying?

The Tigers are 3-11 since the break, playing awful baseball, and have now lost 1/3 of their starting lineup to injury, and are five games off the pace.

I think a black cat running across the field is the only remaining sign left to offer that the Tigers should be pulling the plug on 2009.

There is no shame in admitting that the season is lost. The Tigers had a solid team this year until injuries decimated the roster. It is unforeseeable to survive through the quantity and quality of injuries the Tigers have suffered.

Ryan Perry was having a good season until an injury claimed his last few outings and landed him on the DL for a month.

Joel Zumaya was dominant until his elbow exploded.

Let us not forget Bobby Seay and Zach Miner, whose seasons were over before they ever began.

Finally, Brennan Boesch has hit the first protracted slump of his big league career, as opposing teams have figured out how to get him out. 

Instead of buying a Jhonny, the Tigers should be selling a Johnny. Johnny Damon, that is. 

Damon has done just fine in a Tiger uniform. I love seeing him shake his stuff in the batter’s box before every pitch.

The thing is, he has value, he is a commodity that can be traded to begin piecing together next year’s squad. 

Why keep throwing good money after bad? The Tigers will just end up penniless. 

There are plenty of teams looking for a fourth outfielder to bolster their roster on their way to a playoff run.

The Dodgers grabbed Scott Podsednik from the Royals tonight. The Phillies have a need, especially since Shane Victorino just went on the DL. 

I’m sure the Yankees would love to have him back as a depth guy.

Damon is one of the few players on the current roster who is ideal to trade and has decent value. After all, who would really want Ryan Raburn?

It’s time to start building for the future again. Selling Damon works twice on that front.

It either recoups money or prospects in return, and also paves the way for outfielders Casper Wells and Ryan Strieby to get a protracted look in the majors

Granted, neither is setting the world on fire in AAA, but a chance to come up to the big show could pay huge dividends, especially if a call up inspires them.

It wasn’t that long ago when most people said the Central Division and a playoff berth were a long shot for the Tigers. The Twins had too good a team and the White Sox were a good dark horse to bet on.

Both of those projections are coming to fruition.

We all knew the wild card would be coming from the east. Correct again.

The Tigers had a strong first half, tempted us into thinking maybe the prognosticators got this one wrong. 

Then the second half rolled around….and reality set back in.

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July 2007 was the pinnacle of Jeremy Bonderman’s career. It’s a tough pill to swallow considering he is only 27 and should be in the prime of his career still. He won’t turn 28 until late in the postseason this year.

July 19, 2007. Bonderman was 10-1 with a 3.53ERA in 18 starts. He had struck out 109 in 119.2 innings of work.

This had come on the heals of his breakout 2006 season. 14-8, 214 innings pitched, 202Ks, 4.08ERA.

Those 202 strikeouts were second in the American League only to the Cy Young award winner, Johan Santana, then with the Twins.

Bonderman had it all going for him; everything was finally coming together. The budding ace the Tigers had seen years earlier was in full bloom.

He had a 95 mph+ fastball and the nastiest of sliders. The slider couldn’t be hit and the fastball would blow you away.

It was right around this time in July of 2007 that his flower began to wilt. Bonderman would go 1-8 the rest of the season, shut down in early September with recurring elbow discomfort that had robbed him of a career season.

His strikeout rate fell, his ERA ballooned to over five.

Both 2008 and 2009 were lost seasons. Surgery and removal of a rib would eventually alleviate his symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. 

And Bonderman would never be the same pitcher again.

His velocity is gone. His fastball clocks in at 91-92 mph these days. Extremely hittable. His slider doesn’t have the same bite it once did.

Changeup? Splitter? Oh yeah, about those.

Bondo was always a two-pitch guy when he was a power pitcher. Fastball/slider was all you would ever see from him.

Sure, he knew how to throw a changeup, but had never really gotten comfortable with it.

Hell, Kenny Rogers even tried to teach him how to throw a better changeup. We all know that the 86 mph Rogers knew how to throw a damn good change. How else did he last into his 40s?

Still, the results weren’t there and Bondo plugged along as a fastball/slider pitcher. Pitching coaches and managers had been trying to get him to use the third pitch for years.

In the end, however, they couldn’t argue with results, and the result was that Bonderman was an effective pitcher and could still rack up Ks and Ws.

Until the fire went out.

Bonderman tried to re-invent himself last year during his rehab stint with the Toledo MudHens. He learned how to throw a splitter.

It looked as if Bonderman was maturing and coming to terms with his reduced velocity, and was looking to re-invent himself as a ground ball pitcher.

That didn’t seem to work too well either. I don’t remember seeing many, if any, splitters in the 91.2 innings he has pitched so far this year. 

As per his usual, he flaked out on a third pitch. It was announced recently that he was scrapping the splitter and going back to a changeup.

A changeup which we still have yet to see.

Bonderman is still trying to get by with just the fastball/slider combination. He can continue to do that the rest of the season if he wishes…if he likes being a sub .500 pitcher with an ERA approaching five.

That is what he is right now, and will be the rest of the season if he doesn’t buck up and start throwing a secondary pitch.

Because the stuff he has now doesn’t overpower hitters anymore. The hitters overpower him. 

Sunday was a prime example; nine hits allowed in five innings, two of which were three-run homers.

The bottom line is the Tigers simply cannot continue to settle for mediocre from Bonderman if they want to win this season.

Rick Knapp, the pitching coach, needs to sit on him for a while, force it through his head. 

More changeups. 

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The San Diego Zoo—that would be a good place to leave Ryan Raburn. He would probably fit in better there than on a major league baseball field. 

Notice where the ball is in this picture. It is not in his glove. Notice Raburn is off balance. He probably fell down right after this photo was snapped. 

Tiger fans have gotten used to this sight. It goes something like this: Raburn gets a bad jump on a ball, partially recovers, falls short, and then falls down trying to make a play on the ball.

It is rather pathetic that we have all gotten used to this sight. This is supposedly a major league ballplayer we are talking about.

Does anyone else out there cringe when Raburn is playing the outfield and a ball is hit at him? Go on, raise your hand and admit it. 

Last year against the Indians, I watched him run face first into the outfield wall and drop the ball after getting a bad jump and slipping to start the play.

Granted, Raburn had a breakout season last year. He hit 16 HRs and drove in 45. Let us look past that to evaluate it for what it really is.

He had a breakout campaign at age 28. He hit 16 HRs, but he only had 261 at-bats. Had he played a full season, undoubtedly he would have hit a cold spell and regressed. Last season was the only year in his career he had value over a replacement level player.

Additionally, his fielding was awful. 

Raburn is 29 now. He’s hitting .204 this season after a three-hit game raised his average from .184. His fielding is still awful. 

I wouldn’t hire him to be a ball boy, much less pay him $438,000 to occupy space on the 25-man roster.

Last year was it for him, his one shining moment. He was a one-year wonder.

The wonder is gone. 

We don’t wonder anymore. We know the errors are coming, as are the strikeouts, especially with runners in scoring position.

How is it this guy still has a job? Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Jim Leyland absolutely loves this guy for some reason. I think Jim needs to have another smoke and take a look at the stats. 

Raburn somehow still has a job, even though his hitting is on level with what Adam Everett produced this year. Everett was released. He hit poorly but only had one error in 31 games at short. 

What does Raburn have going for him? The love of his manager.

I’m sorry, but that doesn’t win division titles.

However, I hear the zoo is looking for someone new. 

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Rick Porcello got kicked around again on Wednesday night. This has become a common occurrence throughout the 2010 season. Starting against the Chicago White Sox, he only lasted 3.1 innings, allowing eight runs. 

Porcello’s season ERA rose from 5.25 to 6.09.

Just like in most of his outings this season, he looked extremely hittable. I know that is a subjective evaluation, but this is an attribute that he did not seem to possess in 2009.

Consider a look at his statistics. Going into tonight’s start, opponents were hitting a whopping .315 against Porcello this year, up from .267 last year. WHIP is also up from 1.34 to 1.65, which means he is allowing a ton of base runners, and voila, runs start scoring.

The Tigers have been making a flurry of roster moves the past couple weeks. One of those moves was to send SP Max Scherzer on a tune-up assignment to Toledo to find his form. 

Upon his return Scherzer lit up the Oakland A’s, striking out 14 in 5.2 innings. He did get kicked around by Kansas City in his last start, however, so the jury is still out as to whether or not this has been a completely successful move.

After tonight’s awful performance, though, one would have to imagine the Tigers are considering sending Porcello on a vacation to Toledo for a couple weeks to have him work on something, anything. 

His short term replacement is already on the roster. Enter Eddie Bonine, who, once again, was called upon to mop up a disastrous outing by a starting pitcher. 

Bonine pitched four innings and was lights out for three of them. He was charged with three runs in his fourth frame, but two of those were inherited runners that Fu-Te Ni allowed to score in a rubbish heap performance. 

Overall in the 2010 season Bonine has been great. I pointed this out a couple weeks ago, and my point is still valid. Bonine’s ERA rises to a mere 2.30 after tonight, in 31.1 innings of work.

There are many virtues to moving Bonine to the rotation and sending Porcello down temporarily. 

No one expects Porcello’s struggles to be anything but temporary. It’s called a sophomore slump, and they are real. The scouting reports have gotten around on Porcello and guys know how to hit him now. It’s time to make adjustments, and a trip to Toledo expedites this process.

Moving Bonine to the rotation rewards a guy who has pitched outstanding baseball all season. He has only been in the bullpen because of a lack of rotation space. Time to make some room.

Finally, moving Bonine to the rotation opens the need for a relief pitcher. There are a few relievers having great seasons for the Mud Hens. This would be a chance to call one of them up for a couple weeks to see what they have.

Perhaps Daniel Schlereth or Jay Sborz? I think yes.

In the end what it comes down to is this: You can’t let Porcello continue to get roasted by major league hitters all season. It could be an irrevocable blow to his composure and confidence. 

Everyone seems to forget that he is only 21 years old. Bumps in the carpet like this have to be anticipated and ironed out. 

Let’s get the iron out in Toledo for two weeks.

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The DTrain is going to be laying down new tracks….right out of Detroit. Dontrelle Willis, the struggling left hander, was designated for assignment after Saturday night’s loss to the Oakland Athletics at Comerica Park.

The move removes Willis from the 40 man roster and leaves the Tigers 10 days to trade him, release him, or send him outright to the minor leagues. However, Willis would have the right to refuse any minor league assignment and become a free agent.

This likely ends Willis’ tenure in the Tigers’ organization, which has spanned the past three seasons. 

Willis was acquired from the Florida Marlins as part of the blockbuster Miguel Cabrera trade made during the winter before the 2008 season.

He was signed to a three year contract extension before ever throwing a pitch for the Tigers. The contract was worth $29 million, $12million of that being owed in 2010. The Tigers are still on the hook for the remainder of that $12 million Willis is owed this year.

However, this move is hardly surprising, considering the Tigers spent nearly $13.8 million on outfielder Gary Sheffield after releasing him before the 2009 season.

Cabrera’s emergence as one of the top sluggers in baseball has eased the sting from not getting much out of Willis. 

Over parts of three seasons with the Tigers, Willis has made only 22 starts. His composite numbers from those three years: 2-8, 6.86 ERA with 92BBs and 68Ks in 101 innings pitched. 

Willis spent time on the disabled list in both 2008 and 2009 as a means to try to correct his wildness and ineffectiveness. Said Detroit General Manager David Dombrowski, “He had trouble throwing strikes on a consistent basis.”

With Willis being cut, RHP Max Scherzer will be recalled from Toledo of the International League. Scherzer is scheduled to get the 1:05pm start in the third game of the series against the Oakland Athletics. 

“Willis worked hard, tried to overcome a lot. But we had to make the best [decision] for the club. It’s hard.” said Dombrowski on the decision to designate Willis for assignment.

Ultimately, one has to believe the reason the Tigers’ organization gave Willis such a long leash was not only because of the money he was owed, but the quality of individual and teammate that he is. We wish you all the best, DTrain.

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Zach Miner…..does that name even ring a bell to anyone? Certainly not in 2010. Ok, you might remember him from such exciting shows as Imploding ‘Pen 2009 and Fail ‘Pen 2008. 

Miner is an everyman reliever and sometime starter most notable for not being notable. The story is always the same—average stuff, below average strikeout rate, above average walk rate, never an exceptional outing, and usually pitches as if he belongs on the trash heap.

I could never understand why manager Jim Leyland had such a man-crush on Miner. Yes, perhaps it was because after 2006 he did not have much else to be excited about. Joel Zumaya spent most of the time injured, Fernando Rodney was wild, and Todd Jones stole most of his energy. 

Leyland always loved Miner in late game situations because of his “sinker” ball and ability to get ground balls with runners on base to try to turn double plays.

That “sinker” ball was usually the one that couldn’t be thrown for strikes, was smacked into the outfield, or deposited into the seats. 

Let’s face it, I’ve got close to no love for Miner. He is at best a mediocre pitcher whose value has always been overstated by management. Then again, criticizing Leyland and his use of the bullpen is something I could write a volume of articles about. 

Well, no one has to worry about Zach Miner this year. That is, except for whoever is putting him under the knife on Friday.

Miner’s season is over, he is having elbow ligament replacement “Tommy John” surgery on Friday. 

Miner was shut down during spring training due to discomfort in his elbow. He finally resumed throwing at the beginning of May, in extended spring training, before being shut down again.

Did anyone miss him?

In an unrelated note, the Tiger bullpen has been phenomenal in 2010. Ryan Perry had a rough outing against the Mariners today, but one melt down can be forgiven in the light of how great he has been this year. 

I eat more potatoes than ever, wash them down with Coca Cola, and wish I drove a Mazda. What’s better, Miner has been replaced by someone who is actually good.

Not just average so far, Eddie Bonine has been great. #mce_temp_url#  (I’m just leaving this disgusting looking link sitting here in the middle of my article since I still can’t figure out the link changer after seven tries).

So Miner can take all the time he needs to recover. Believe me, he is going to need it. This is “Tommy John” surgery we are talking about. Miner’s 2010 season is done and his 2011 season is now in jeopardy. 

Yet, the Tiger’s bullpen continues to destroy opposing hitters. Maybe Miner does his best pitching from the DL.

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Bo·da·cious, adjective: remarkable, outstanding.

That sounds like Eddie Bonine of the Detroit Tigers this year, does it not? That is what I have taken to calling him lately: Bodacious Bonine.

I’ll go one further: Steady Eddie.

I will note, one really has to impress me in order to get labeled with the “S” word.

I have been continually making a case for Eddie Bonine to a sports savvy friend of mine, insisting that Bonine deserved a crack at a few starts. I will now make my pitch to Tiger nation. But I’m not going to bring the heat, my friends, oh lordy no; I’m going to fire a knuckleball.

I will call my first witness, the Texas Rangers. On April 24, Dontrelle Willis was scratched from his scheduled start due to flu-like symptoms. For some unknown reason, lefty Brad Thomas got the spot start.

It took him 66 pitches to get through three innings, surrendering eight hits and four runs. Steady Eddie was called upon to relieve.

I will submit Peoples’ Exhibit 1, the box score from that night. Bonine relieved to the tune of three scoreless innings of one-hit ball. It only took him 35 pitches to do so. With pitching that efficient, had he started, he could have been good for five or six innings.

The Texas Rangers can step down.

I will call my next witness, the New York Yankees. On May 10, Willis was again scratched from his scheduled start, due to a fever of 102. Yikes.

After such a great body of work against the Rangers, one would think Bonine would have received the spot start. Wrong. I will remind you that we are under oath here. Thomas once again was given the ball to start the game.

Peoples’ Exhibit 2, the box score from this game: Thomas threw 68 pitches in three innings, walking three and allowing two runs. Steady Eddie again relieved, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings in only 35 pitches, silencing the Bronx Bombers.

These two games together are a significant body of work, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. In two spot start scenarios for the bullpen, Bodacious Bonine has easily outpitched Thomas. Spot start situations are crucial for a bullpen, for if disaster strikes, the bullpen can be crippled for a week afterward.

This usually happens when a spot starter does not eat enough innings and a heavy workload befalls the rest of the relievers. Crippling the bullpen can, of course, be disastrous, leading to multiple losses.

Good thing Steady Eddie was there to bail them out.

For the season Bonine has only allowed four runs in 22.2 IP. His peripherals are not great—nine walks to eight strikeouts.

The walks are not that bad, and the lack of Ks actually underscores how well he has been pitching. Opponents are putting the ball in play, but the defense is gobbling them up (I will play devil’s advocate on myself by noting that he has a vastly unsustainable .177 BABIP).

The Tigers have been searching for reliable and steady starting pitching. Max Scherzer was sent to Toledo, and understandably Armando Galarraga was recalled to start in his place. Gally has posted decent numbers for the Mud Hens, but I will still make my point clearly: Steady Eddie still deserves a chance to make some starts for the Detroit Tigers. 

Yes, he has been great in the bullpen, but he does not pitch in a crucial role. “Papa Grande” is the closer, with Joel Zumaya, Ryan Perry, and Phil Coke regularly tying down the late inning work. Very rarely does Bonine pitch in a crucial game situation, and that is doing him a disservice. 

(Insert glittering testimonial here to sway an unsuspecting jury.) Plus, this guy throws a knuckleball! How can you not love a guy that throws a knuckleball?!

OK, so Bonine is not a conventional knuckleballer in the same sense as, say, Tim Wakefield. Bonine still sports a good fastball that he throws 51 percent of the time, and only 26 percent of his pitches are high-velocity knuckleballs. 

Still, the game of baseball is so much more enjoyable watching knuckleballers fire junk at opposing hitters.

Remember the heyday of Wakefield in Boston? How about Steve Sparks, the former Tiger who tried to make wearing eyeglasses on the field “cool?”

Anyone remember R.A. Dickey? He pitched against the Tigers a couple times last season. He’s the guy who doesn’t have an ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. He just resurfaced in the bigs Wednesday, making a start for the Mets and tossing six innings.

Finally, there is Charlie Haeger of the Dodgers, the pride of Detroit Catholic Central High School. 

The game of baseball is so much more fun when a knuckleballer is on the mound, ladies and gentlemen. The People rest their case.

Bodacious, as defined on dictionary.com. Advanced metrics on Eddie Bonine were gathered from fangraphs.com

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The Tigers have played 39 games in the 2010 season. They recently shook up their roster in a weekend series against the Boston Red Sox. Struggling SP Max Scherzer and 2B Scott Sizemore were shipped off to exile in the minors. The pair have given fans ample opportunity to scratch their heads and wonder about some of the offseason moves the Tigers made.

Well, I figure 39 games is enough of a sample to evaluate and second guess everything the front office did over the winter. Let’s see what David Dombrowski got right for this season, potentially for the future, and what he perhaps bombed out on.

Begin Slideshow

After an almost five hour marathon victory, Detroit Tigers’ general manager David Dombrowski announced a few roster moves late Saturday night.

Second baseman Scott Sizemore was sent to Toledo of the International League. Through 30 starts this season Sizemore was hitting a mere .206 with one homerun, and 6 errors in the field. 

Manager Jim Leyland had shown a preference to pinch hit for him in crucial game situations, as well as replacing him defensively in other situations.

His demotion undoubtedly surprises very few, as his struggles at the plate have been readily apparent. This was the prime reason Dombrowski cited for making the move, adding that Sizemore needs to slow the game down.

In Sizemore’s place, the contract of infielder Danny Worth was purchased from the Mud Hens. Worth is a right handed hitting second baseman, drafted in 2008 out of Pepperdine. 

This season at Toledo he was hitting .274 with 14RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He figures to enter a timeshare with Ramon Santiago and Don Kelly for playing time.

However, current speculation is that his promotion is only temporary until Carlos Guillen is ready to return from the disabled list. Guillen was seen yesterday working out at second base. Moving Guillen to second would allow the Tigers to keep the potent bat of Brennan Boesch in the everyday lineup.

Announced alongside this move was the demotion of SP Max Scherzer to Toledo. In his place SP Armando Galarraga was recalled, and will start Sunday’s rubber match against the Boston Red Sox.

Galarraga has made seven starts in Toledo, going 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA and a 38/13 K/BB ratio in 41.1 innings pitched. He should get at least three starts with the Tigers, since Scherzer cannot be recalled until 10 days after being sent down.

Scherzer has struggled in eight starts this year with the Tigers, allowing 34 earned runs in 42 innings. 

In the cases of both Sizemore and Scherzer, Dombrowski noted the need for them to work on their respective game and to regain form and confidence. 

Expect Scherzer’s demotion to be only temporary. If Guillen returns and can stay healthy, however, Sizemore may have a long summer ahead of him in Toledo.

As ever, The Hammer Toss  will keep you informed as more news or speculation becomes available.

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