5/1/17 Detroit Tigers optioned RHP Joe Jimenez to Toledo Mud Hens.

5/1/17 Detroit Tigers recalled LHP Chad Bell from Toledo Mud Hens.
Looks like Detroit is going for it. If you include Wednesday's starter, Matthew Boyd, Detroit will have 4 lefties ready for us. Chad Bell was Toledo's #2 starter.

For Comparison, Chad Bell is 5th in the International League in pitching. Mike Clevinger is 6th.

Kluber, Carrasco, and Salazar should be prepared to bring their "A" games. The offense should simply put, come prepared, be patient, and just make solid contact. We have to put up quality at bats and cut down on the hacking. Detroit appears to be coming into this series like it was the first four games of the world series. I think we should be prepared to do the same.

Looks like Miggy returns to the lineup Tuesday.

DETROIT -- The final swing Miguel Cabrera took in early batting practice Monday afternoon was an exclamation point: Yes, he's ready to return. Cabrera sent a drive over the big wall in right-center field, dropped his bat and clapped his hands. It's the kind of swing the Tigers have missed in their lineup for the past week and a half while Cabrera has been on the 10-day disabled list with a right groin strain.

Glad we don't have to face J.D. Martinez.

Still letting Miggy kill us

We're killing ourselves!

I wasn't watching when Tito took Kluber out. I hope he isn't hurt!

Uh-oh
Low back discomfort!

Yup.

Ryan Lewis @RyanLewisABJ
Corey Kluber left tonight's start with lower back discomfort. Dealt with something similar in April.

They aren't playing like the team that made it to game 7 of the WS last year

Back to being the Tigers' b****

It's not a Tiger problem JR.

It comes down to our inability to hit left hand pitching. It just so happened that three of the losses to the Tigers came at the expense of their left handers and we face another good one tomorrow.

Matt Boyd won in Cleveland. Norris won in Cleveland and now in Detroit. If Boyd wins tomorrow, the lefties would be 4-0 against us. So! It all comes down to futile efforts against lefties.

We are 3 and 8 against the lefties so far. Except for Fullmer on Thursday, expect to see 4 lefties if Detroit needs them in these next two games. Yesterday Detroit recalled LHP Chad Bell from Toledo Mud Hens for this series, possibly longer.

not hitting lefties, and not getting the consistent starting pitching we expected either. Due to back or otherwise Kluber has been off and on. Bauer has been lousy. Tomlin passable. Another good start by Clevinger yesterday. He's ready when needed, but I hope it is not Kluber he has to replace.

So did we face fewer lefties last year, or did Rajai and Napoli hit them so well? This is essentially the same roster we had last year, with the improvement (?) of Encarnacion over Nap.

To answer my own question, we were 4th in MLB v. lefties last year:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/st ... 6/split/31

Currently, we are in 18th place, ahead of the Tigers, Red Sox, Rangers, and others:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/st ... 6/split/31

So what happened in the off-season to make us lose our ability to hit lefties?

So what happened in the off-season to make us lose our ability to hit lefties?

HMMMMMM! Encarnacion ?!?!?!

The chemistry and the leadership disappeared with Napoli.

Ramirez has decided to become a power hitter instead of a contact hitter.

All of a sudden a solid defense has become mediocre at best. Lack of concentration in the field. Poor choices at the plate. A pItching staff going from best to worse. The only constant has been the bullpen.