By George B. Eichorn of the Detroit Monitor

Are you ready, baseball fans? The pennant race heats up this weekend as the first-place Detroit Tigers host the second-place Chicago White Sox in the first of many showdown series between these American League Central Division rivals.

            Manager Jim Leyland has his Tigers club in contention just past the mid-point of the season. That bodes well for the turnstiles at Comerica Park. Despite an economic recession and high level of unemployment, attendance is expected to get a boast when the Tigers and Sox play four games over the weekend. Action starts at 1:05 p.m. Friday, July 24, with a makeup game from an April rainout.

            Other games in the series are Friday at 7:05 p.m., Saturday, July 25, at 4:05 p.m. and Sunday at 8:05 p.m. The Saturday game (Fox) and Sunday game (ESPN) are nationally televised so, yes, this series is getting noticed!

            The Tigers and Sox are joined in the pennant race by the always-hungry Minnesota Twins. These three teams could go all the way to the wire (October 4) to decide which team represents the division in the opening round of the playoffs starting October 6 or 7.

            Of the three, the Twins have the easiest second-half schedule, based on the combined .483 Pythagorean winning percentage of its remaining opponents. This is a formula founded by baseball stat man Bill James and shows what a team’s record should be based on how many runs it scores and allows. Experts say this is a truer barometer of a club’s strength than the actual won-loss record.

            Minnesota has no games left with tough A.L. East foes Boston, New York and TampaBay. The Tigers, by contrast, have 11 games left with those clubs. Yet the Tigers’ second-half Pythagorean index is just slightly higher than the Twins, at .500.

            Statistics and averages aside, the Tigers need to improve in several areas in order to contend for the division crown. First, they must play better ball on the road where they only own a 21-29 record. The Sox are a division-best 23-22 away from home while the Twins 19-25. Next, the Tigers need to improve their hitting and run production. In the three-game sweep by the Yankees last weekend, Tiger hitters were a paltry 1-for-26 with runners in scoring position. This is totally unacceptable for an offense at any stage of baseball – especially in the big leagues.

            Unless Tiger hitters such as Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco, Brandon Inge and Magglio Ordonez (being platooned) hit the way they are supposed to, average wide, the Tigers are cooked. You cannot rely on Miguel Cabrera’s bat nor Granderson and Inge to hit home runs to carry you game in and game out. The Tigers needs clutch  hits – singles and doubles – with runners on the base paths. Period.

            As for pitching, the Tigers are fortunate to be getting solid seasons from their top two starters – Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson – and a mixed bag  from the other three starters. Rookie Rick Porcello had a solid first few months, going 8-6 with a 4.14 earned run average. But can he survive a tough second-half? Leyland shut down the rookie hurler just before the all-star break to give him a couple weeks away from the grind of the majors.

            Armando Galarraga (5-8, 5.09 ERA) has been on a roller-coaster ride. The Tigers need him to stay consistent and win at least six or seven games in order to contend. The fifth starter is rookie Luke French and anything positive Detroit gets from him is a bonus. Should the Tigers get five quality innings from French, they will be happy.

            The bullpen is again a question mark. Fernando Rodney is up and down when he comes into a game yet has recorded 20 saves in 20 save opportunities at press time in 2009. Set-up man Joel Zumaya is out with yet another injury and who knows if he will come back and in what condition. Brandon Lyon will be called upon to set-up Rodney and that could prove risky although Lyon has pitched better of late.

            The makeup of the pen includes lefties Bobby Seay and Fu-Te Ni, right-hander Freddy Dolsi and recently recalled rookie righty Ryan Perry whose control problems have haunted him this season. And the Tigers have Zach Miner (5-1) as a solid middle reliever.

            Look for Tigers president/GM Dave Dombrowski to make a move or two before the trading deadline. Although attendance is down some 22 percent this year (translating into an estimate $8.9 million in lost revenue), the Tigers know they have a chance to win their division and make some noise in the post-season. Owner Mike Ilitch is not getting any younger and to “win it now” is more likely the mantra at ComericaPark these days than “wait until next year.”

            Dombrowski has so many large contracts on his hands that Ilitch cannot be happy with anything less than a division flag. Besides Ordonez and Cabrera, injured pitchers Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis, plus infielder Carlos Guillen, are making mega-bucks and not contributing to the team (except for Cabrera). Have a large-market payroll with a midsize market attendance does not compute. Adding to the gate challenge, season ticket sales dropped to 15,000 this season from 27,000 a year ago.

            The Tigers will pick up more fans by staying in contention yet the Tiger players have to do their fair share to get fans back for a repeat visit or two. The Tigers must win – and the time is now.

 Reach George Eichorn at geichorn@yahoo.com. Buy his book, “Detroit Sports Broadcasters On the Air” at www.amazon.com.

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