…and Reality
The trouble began when Verlander opened the year on the disabled list, keeping him out for the first two months of the season, while DH Victor Martinez aggravated a knee injury in April that severely hampered his batting production for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, pitcher Aníbal Sánchez struggled to a 3-7 start and saw his own season cut short due to injury in August. Throw in missed time from Cabrera, a midseason trade of Céspedes, and the removal of GM Dave Dombrowski, and it’s easy to see how the Tigers dropped all the way to last place in their division.