The Tigers have won five of their first six games but there are still some troubling signs.  First Justin Verlander has not looked that great in his first two starts this season.  He gave up 4 earned runs in five plus innings in his first start again Kansas City and 6 earned today in his second start in 5 innings against Cleveland.

Second, the Tigers still have a hard time scoring runners at second and third with less than two outs.  This is a phenomenon that has plagued the Tigers for the past few seasons.  In fact, if not for a 3 run error by Jhonny Peralta, the Tigers may not have won their home opener on Friday.

That being said, Willis and Bonderman have looked pretty good and there seems to be some magic around this team.  They play 27 outs and have pulled out some impressive come from behind wins so far this young season.

If JV can find his form and the Tigers get some clutch hitting, this could be a great season.

Look for Alex Avilia to get some more playing time.  On Saturday, even though he got caught looking in his last at bat with the bases loaded, he did work two walks and a HBP in his previous three plate appearances.  In his last at bat he looked anxious.  He swung a few questionable pitches early in the AB and got caught by a marginal third strike for the backwards K.  Still Avila is the real deal.