The Tigers got off to a hot(ish) start, winning eight of their first 12 games, including a series win against the Yankees, and hanging onto first place through the morning of April 11. I say “ish” because even with that early record, the Tigers still scored fewer than four runs a game, averaging 3.5 over the first dozen contests. Expecting Ross and Moore to continue to combine for a 1.23 ERA seemed slightly on the optimistic side.
What surprised me about the Tigers wasn’t how far they fell after their start, but how long they managed to stay within shouting distance of a .500 record. Detroit was within a game of .500 as late as May 9, despite ranking 29th in baseball in runs scored behind only the Miami Marlins, a team I strongly suspect of filling out the back of their 25-man roster through some kind of fan raffle.
The offense stayed ugly and there were no Herculean defensive contributions to make up for it. As it stands, the 2019 Tigers have locked up their spot in the annals of woe.