DETROIT (AP) -A .500 record at the All-Star break used to be satisfying for the Detroit Tigers and their fans.
Time and stakes have changed.
The Tigers raised expectations by playing in the World Series two years ago – after being baseball’s losingest team for more than a decade – and ratcheted up hopes last offseason with an array of moves.
If Detroit doesn’t make it to the playoffs for the second straight year, the franchise and its followers will regard the season as a disappointment.
“You have to be careful surmising a situation at the All-Star break. You have to wait until the end of the season,” Tigers president Dave Dombrowski cautioned Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. “But there’s no question we have to step it up and play more consistently to get where we want to be this year.”
The Tigers have failed to play well for extended stretches with nearly 60 percent of their schedule completed, leaving them seven games behind the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox and 5 1/2 behind the second-place Minnesota Twins.
Detroit trails eight teams in the American League, which will make it difficult for the Tigers to claim a wild-card berth.
“We haven’t put ourselves into a good position, but we’ve got a chance,” manager Jim Leyland said. “We’re capable of playing very, very well. But even if we do that, if the teams ahead of us play well, we aren’t going to catch them.”
Detroit comes out of the break playing Thursday night at Baltimore.
The Tigers hurt their chances of living up to the hype generated by a $139 million payroll by losing their first seven games, starting 2-10 and sinking to 24-36.
They got back in the race by leading the majors with 21 wins from early June to early July, only to take another step back with close losses last week to the Twins.
“I’ll be very happy if we can get it around three games by September, because then you feel like you’re playing for something,” Leyland said. “If it is still eight or nine games, is there a chance? Yes. But it is harder to feel like you’re in the race.”
Detroit has 68 games left to figure out a way to play up to its potential more often.
Closer Todd Jones said the team plays like champs or chumps on any given night.
Beyond faith that the team’s talent will prevail, evidence supports Detroit’s confidence that it can rally for a spot in the playoffs.
Ace Justin Verlander has regained the form that made him one of the better pitchers in baseball the past two seasons, leading a rotation that sparked the team’s turnaround.
Despite the drama associated with many of his outings, Jones has been productive. Setup men Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney have shown some promising signs since coming back from shoulder injuries.
“I really think Zumaya and Rodney are going to help us a lot in the second half,” Dombrowski said.
The key, however, may rest with a star-studded lineup that has flopped almost as much as it has flourished.
“We haven’t scored runs as consistently as we thought we would,” Dombrowski acknowledged.
As is the case with most things in life, money is a topic of conversation when people discuss the Tigers.
Detroit joined baseball’s big-spenders by adding slugger Miguel Cabrera, shortstop Edgar Renteria and pitcher Dontrelle Willis, who has been a bust so far, during a busy and expensive offseason.
“Spending money doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to win,” Dombrowski said, adding that he wasn’t sure if he would make a trade prior to the July 31 deadline. “We’ve been very aggressive in that regard, but you still have to play well on the field on a consistent basis.”
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