I think the Mariners pulled a fast one on the Tigers trading them Jarrod Washburn and his bum knee. Washburn has started 8 games for the Tigers this season and he is 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He does not look like the same pitcher who was dominating in Seattle before the trade. He started 20 games for the Mariners this season and he was 8-6 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. It’s doubtful that the Tigers would use Washburn in the playoffs if the Tigers hang on and win the American League Central.

The Tigers have shut down veteran Kenny Rogers for the remainder of the season. He started 30 games for the Tigers this year and he was 9-13 with a 5.70 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. It appears that he’s running out of steam and it seems very unlikely that the Tigers will bring him back in 2009. Rogers pitched in 75 games (73 starts) in three years with the Tigers and he is 29-25 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP for them. But, it was Rogers’ pitching in the 2006 post season that really stood out and he was one of the main reasons that the Tigers made it to the World Series that year. He started 3 games in the post season for the Tigers in 2006 and he was 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP.

Kenny Rogers, Nate Robertson and Justin Verlander are all off to terrible starts for the Tigers. Verlander is the most puzzling because his stuff still has looked great. But, in his 4 starts he is 0-3 with a 7.03 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Nate Robertson has just been truly awful so far this season. He has started 4 games this season and he is 0-2 with a 7.48 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Kenny Rogers is starting to look his age on the mound and that’s not a good thing for the Tigers. He has started 4 games this season and he is 1-3 with a 6.33 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. The Tigers are now 6-13 on the season which has them in last place in the American League Central, 5.5 games behind the White Sox. The Tigers need Verlander, Rogers and Robertson to get back on track because the Tigers bullpen still appears to be weak.

The Tigers like to think they have a solid rotation but nothing could be further from the truth. Justin Verlander (35-17, 3.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) and Kenny Rogers (210-143, 4.19 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) are the only two starting pitchers that the Tigers can depend on as they both have good career numbers. Nate Robertson’s career to date has been very sub-par as he has a career record of only 42-55 with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The Tigers need more from him or they will have to consider replacing him in the rotation. Jeremy Bonderman has not really improved as much as the Tigers would have liked him to so far in his career. He is an un-impressive 56-62 with a 4.78 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP over his major league career. Bonderman has a great pitching arm but he still hasn’t learned how to pitch yet.

Nate Robertson, Todd Jones, Fernando Rodney and Jason Grilli have all pitched pretty poorly so far this season and the Tigers need them to right the ship in the 2nd half.  Robertson is 5-6 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP so far this season.  Robertson has allowed 99 hits and 11 homers this season in 82.1 innings.  If Robertson doesn’t get better soon the Tigers could replace him in the rotation with Chad Durbin who pitched pretty well earlier in the season for the Tigers.  Todd Jones is 1-4 with 22 saves, a 5.22 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP so far this season.  If Joel Zumaya wasn’t injured right now he probably would have taken over as the stopper by now.  Look for the Tigers to make a trade for bullpen help in the next couple of weeks.  Fernando Rodney has been injured off an on this season but he hasn’t pitched well at all.  Rodney is 1-5 with 1 save, a 5.40 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP so far this season.  Jason Grilli has also had a rough start to the 2007 season as he is 3-2 with a 5.95 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP so far this season. Grilli will need to pitch better soon because his roster spot will likely be on the line in the 2nd half.