Below .500

What is it about playing .500 baseball that the Detroit Tigers just cannot seem to get a handle on? With this afternoon's loss to Tampa Bay, the Motown Kitties have fallen below the break even mark once again. This .500 mark has been a bugaboo since the Justin Thompson/Bobby Higginson/Tony Clark days. No matter what collection of players wear the Old English D, none of them have been able to sustain a level at or, dare I wish, above .500.

I realize the largest part of the problem is that our local team just hasn't had enough talent to maintain a mark better than .500. Which leads me to an even more troublesome question. Is this current group of Tigers closer to being a playoff contender or, I hate to say it, closer to rebuilding?

Why would I pose such an impolite inquiry? Because, well, because I am beginning to wonder. This group of Detroit baseball players isn't exactly a youth movement. Pudge Rodriguez, Rondell White, Ugueth Urbina, Troy Percival, Jason Johnson, Ramon Martinez, Vance Wilson, Doug Creek, Jamie Walker, Bobby Higginson, Dmitri Young and Magglio Ordonez are all over thirty. Carlos Guillen will be thirty in August.

Kyle Farsnworth is twenty-nine. Brandon Inge, Marcus Thames, Mike Maroth, Jason Smith, Nate Robertson, Chris Spurling, Matt Ginter and Craig Monroe are all twenty-eight. Carlos Pena is twenty-seven.

That means on the twenty-five man active roster, twenty-one Tigers are 27 years old or older. That doesn't include the three Tigers on the DL (Higgy, Maggs and Percival) that I've listed above. That's not a young team.

Sure, Jeremy Bonderman is young and appears headed in the right direction. It's too soon to guess on Nook Logan's career path and Omar Infante is just too inconsistent thus far to get a handle on. Both could join Bonderman as potential Tigers All-Stars of the future, but that's being really optimistic. It's certainly not a core to build upon. At least, not yet.

Now, the Tigers are going to lose a number of older players this off-season. At minimum, Urbina, White, Higginson, Johnson and Fernando Vina's contract will all be let go in October. That opens up some roster spots for some of the Tigers farmhands. Great. The '06 squad will be younger. However, does adding three or four rookies to the roster bring the Tigers closer to the top of the division or will it be a step back?

What if Mike Ilitch pursues another big name free agent or two? If, as I suspect they will, the Tigers do add some more high priced talent in the winter of 2005-06, then more of the kids stay on the farm and the Tigers will continue to go to battle with a slightly older roster. Can adding a new group of veterans next season propel the Tigers above .500? If so, will it be enough to contend? If not, why not go with the kids?

As you can probably tell by this rambling, I'm dazed and confused by the Tigers current situation. I'm just baffled trying to figure out where they are and where they are going. Playing below .500 for a prolonged time apparently is confusing for certain members of the fanbase.