Why are the Tigers so Consistently Inconsistent?

 For a long time now, for years in fact, the Detroit Tigers have struggled to find themselves playing consistent for long periods of time.  Yes, they can play well for 5 or 6 games, but then they fall back on their old habits that create bad play.  While the exact reasons for this remain unclear, there may be some viable suggestions.  Even though these suggestions may not pinpoint the real problems with this team, they are worth discussing.

It appears the largest problem the Tigers have is the inability to execute the fundamentals of baseball on consistent basis.  Almost without exception, teams that win play virtually flawless fundamental baseball.  This means, not being baited into swinging at bad pitches, getting runners in from 3rd base with less than two outs, and playing air tight on the defensive side of the ball.  Furthermore, teams must avoid prolonged low offensive output.  Though the Tigers have had pretty solid pitching lately, consistent defense and offense have been non existent.  Being unable to perform consistently in all aspects of the game is a recipe for a long stretch of unsuccessful seasons.

A very prominent issue the Tigers have had for several years is signing marquee players to long term deals that have ultimately turned out to be unproductive for the most part.  Unfortunately, the list is quite long.  To begin with, Miguel Cabrera has had dismal performances for half of his 10 year contract he signed the the team.  For the past five years, he has been injury prone, which has kept him off the field for much of the time.  In addition, when on the field his power and average numbers have fell far below expectations.  Signings the likes of Jordan Zimmerman and Joe Nathan over the years have not helped matters.  Both had success far below that seen with their previous organizations.  Thanks to his successes with the Washington Nationals, Zimmerman notched himself a five year deal with the Tigers.  Due to injury and inability to get batters out, the team didn’t get much return on their investment.  Similarly, Joe Nathan was unable to find his lights out form he once enjoyed with the Minnesota Twins.  The combination of lackluster performances by once great players, and the fact some highly thought of prospects haven’t panned out has led to a recent history of inconsistency.

Having an offense that cannot find a consistent groove and is prone to long stretches of inactivity, will inevitably lead to many winless nights.  Furthermore, an offense that lacks power on a regular basis makes it more difficult to produce runs at pivotal moments when runners are on base.  It’s imperative that offenses come through at the most opportune times.  Too many times this season, the meat of the lineup has shown an inability to do so.  It’s no wonder this team has not found more success, even in the underperforming American League Central Division 

In order to have even mild success on the baseball field, the offense, defense, and pitching must perform well in unison.  If this doesn’t occur, winning is more difficult to come by.  To ensure it does occur, a team must sign the right talent, and hope those pieces perform to expectations.  In recent history, this team has had trouble finding talent that performs as advertised.  With President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris now at the helm, hopefully those fortunes will change.