Tigers-DRays. Scouting report from the bars. No. Not bars. Comerica.

Picture not by me. Comerica is a gorgeous park, worth a trip if you get the chance to go. Many EXCELLENT seats in the reasonable $30-40 range, and most of the seats higher up offer a great view of all the action.

Apologies to two of the people I went with, who are Tigers fans. This team is not playing well. I'd say the chances of an Indians-Red Sox-Angels-Yankees OR M's playoff picture are looking pretty good.

There are some definite holes in this lineup. Think we have an OF not contributing enough? The Tigers have played 116 games, Craig Monroe (.221/.265/.375) has started 87 of those and has appeared in 11 others. He got some mixed reactions when he stepped to the plate.

Of course, the offense isn't really the problem, despite poor seasons from Monroe, Brandon Inge, and to be honest, I-Rod and Sean Casey as well. Curtis Granderson, Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield, Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen have all been at or near the top of their positions offensively, and have carried more than their share of the load.

Polanco, in particular, fit the bill of a "clutch" hitter if there is such a thing. He seemed to come up with a big hit in every game I attended. It was also interesting to see I-Rod, nursing an ankle injury, play a day game after a night game. Utilityman Ryan Raburn is an easy guy to root for, and was almost certainly their hero of the game on Tuesday, going 3-4 with 2 2Bs.

(Side note: At Comerica Park, there are "Sheff Hats" available, with a bill like a baseball cap but a chef's hat on top. As a Sox fan, I wanted to buy one, vomit in it, and then hand it back to the vendor.)

Anyway. That's neither here nor there. The real problem the Tigers are having lately is pitching. Jeremy Bonderman has been awful recently (and got tossed around like a rag doll when I saw him, Wednesday). Young and very talented lefty Andrew Miller is on the shelf. Old and less talented lefty, Kenny Rogers, is also. Before Saturday's game against the A's, Justin Verlander had seen his ERA rise by nearly a full run over 7 starts, though he's still had a VERY good season. I did get to see a great start from Nate Robertson, and Chad Durbin didn't quite get the Bonderman treatment.

The bullpen is absolutely atrocious, and there's no getting around it. No lead is safe. You can kind of feel a nervous energy in the ballpark in those situations. I'm surprised some of these guys still have jobs, especially Jason Grilli. The simple fact that the Tigers did not upgrade at the deadline is already coming back to haunt them. Fernando Rodney could still be an asset, but I'm certain that counting on Joel Zumaya to be a significant factor this season is a huge mistake. Todd Jones has a 1.415 WHIP and is their closer. 1.415 WHIP. Closer. Almost 1 1/2 baserunners per inning. Closer.

Anyway. Aside from the fact that it was an excellent vacation, I kind of feel like this might all have been wasted in terms of scouting. Of the teams closest in the WC race (M's, Yanks, Tigers), the Tigers seem to be in the worst place and certainly in the worst funk.