Notes From the Clubhouse: Tigers Coming Up Short in Many Facets

Our MLB editor provides weekly dispatches from major league games in Notes From the Clubhouse.

With 64 games to go, the ledger is even for the Detroit Tigers. They leave Baltimore at 49-49 -- no small feat considering they were nine games below .500 at the end of May. Still, Jim Leyland's club has a long way to go to live up to the lofty preseason expectations placed upon them.

The Tigers trail the Twins by six games and the White Sox by 6 1/2 in the AL Central, and with the way the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees are playing, the wild card probably isn't an option. Resurrections aren't unheard of in the three-division era. Just look at the Phillies last year or the 2005 Astros, who were 36-41 on July 1, but ended up qualifying for the playoffs.

But those teams had horses and they had a bit of magic too (or mojo or just good fortune, whatever you want to call it). The Phillies had an irrepressible offense led by Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and won 13 of their final 17 games. The Astros had a formidable three-headed monster in Roger Clemens, Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte and they won games 8-6, 12-8 and 7-6 down the stretch when they weren't stifling opposing teams with their pitching.

Unfortunately for Leyland, it doesn't look like this edition of the Tigers has the horses or the spark to mount a comeback.

Considering what some expected, the Tigers' offense has been a bit of a disappointment. They're fifth in the AL in runs scored, nowhere close to the 1,000 run pace for which some pundits had them pegged. But they probably deserve a bit of a mulligan. Curtis Granderson missed the first month and Edgar Renteria and Miguel Cabrera have had to adjust to the tougher league. Since the start of June, Detroit is hitting 22 points better as a team and has an OPS 55 points higher.

Bolstered by the return of Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya, the bullpen looks better too.

The rotation, on the other hand, is a mess. Nate Robertson has been terrible all season long. He was spotted a 6-0 lead Saturday in Baltimore and gave it all back. "Earlier in the game was what hurt us bad, when we let them right back in the game," said Leyland of Robertson's frustrating outing. "You saw the outing, you tell me what you thought of it," he added sarcastically.

"You have to just shut it down, we didn't do it."

Justin Verlander seems to be coming on strong and Kenny Rogers will be fine, but Armando Galarraga is ripe for a second half regression and there is no help coming by way of a trade. The Tigers emptied out their farm system to acquire Miguel Cabrera over the winter.

As for the magic or mojo or whatever it is you want to call it, well Detroit doesn't seem to have that either. Melvin Mora's two-run homer off the top of the Camden Yards foul pole was the difference in the Tigers' loss Friday. Despite Robertson's dud, Detroit was leading Saturday in the ninth inning, but Zumaya blew the lead and then Placido Polanco was called out at the plate in the 10th on what would have been the go-ahead run.

Though replays clearly showed Polanco was safe, Leyland wouldn't make excuses. The grizzled manager never does. "[The umpire] missed the play," he said. "That doesn't excuse blowing the lead like we did. Blaming umpires and stuff like that, that's not an excuse."

Whether it's bad luck or bad roster construction, the Tigers have 64 games to make up 6 1/2 in the standings, and it's awfully hard to see them doing so. Teams that make big second half comebacks usually find a way to sneak out of places like Baltimore with more than a four-game split.