The Pressbox

It’s nice to see Carlos Pena has gotten his career back on track with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

He has 26 home runs and 70 RBI this season and has kept his average in the .270 to .290 range for most of the season.

Pena had a lot of chances with the Tigers, but things just never worked out. He always had that sweet swing and soft hands around first base, but seemed to press too much. He struck me as one of those guys who thinks too much. Sometimes being smart is not a good thing for an athlete. They can tend to overanalyze and tie themselves in knots.

After leaving the Tigers, Pena washed out with both the New York Yankees and Boston.

Perhaps Tampa Bay is the perfect situation for him. There’s not a lot of pressure playing for a young team that is last in the American League East.

Amazing stat: When Nate Robertson pitched seven and two-thirds innings Tuesday night, it was the first time a Tiger starter had pitched that deep into a game since July 7. No wonder the bullpen has been struggling. They have been too busy.

Sunday was another miserable day for the Detroit Tigers, but at least Fernando Rodney provided some gillmer of hope.

He did a nice job in his one inning of work, giving up no hits, no runs and one walk. His veloscity was good, hitting 99 mph on one pitch.

The Tigers needed another arm in the bullpen. Now, they need their starters to get straightened up.

Tigerfan asked about the 80-game suspension for Neifi Perez in a comment to one of my earlier blog items. Rather than tack another comment on there, I decided to start a new item.

How can Perez, who’s career was hanging by a thread anyway, continue to take a banned stimulant when he already is on suspension? That wasn’t very bright. Anyone who does that deserves an 80-game ban.

If Perez gets caught again, he faces a lifetime ban. But that doesn’t really matter. The 80-game suspension is effectively a lifetime ban anyway. No one is going to take a chance on a weak-hitting, utility infielder with drug problems.

Tiger fans should be happy. Neifi was the man they loved to hate anyway.

Today’s off day was perfect timing for the Detroit Tigers.

They needed some time to rest and regroup. Their schedule following the All-Star break has been brutal. They had a West Coast trip, then returned home for three games then launched another West Coast trip that included 11 games in 10 days.

They will be home for most of August. The only problem is that they need to figure out how to win at Comerica Park. They have the best road record in the majors but are just over .500 (26-21) at home.