April showers did not bring May Flowers for the whimpering Tigers.  The second-highest payroll in the league finished May about 10 games below .500, and just 1.5 games out of the basement in the AL Central.  Things aren’t exactly going according to plan.

Last month, injuries were the story.  The Tigers still aren’t at 100%, with Gary Sheffield on the DL and the bullpen still without Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney.  Still, there is no excuse for a lineup featuring Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, and Curtis Granderson to get shut out more than any other team in the Major League.

The season is one-third over, so it is time to look at the panic button.  The trade deadline is approaching, and by now the Dave Dombroski must be looking to shop around some of the overrated talent stuffed into the Tigers’ lineup.

It’s hard to pinpoint which aspect of the team is underperforming the most.  The bullpen went 0-5 in the latter half of May, but the starters haven’t been much better.  And the bats have been way too quiet, with the shutouts becoming a weekly feature.  Despite the offensive struggles, I think pitching is clearly the biggest need.  Former ace Justin Verlander is struggling mightily, and there’s no one truly fearsome among the starters any more.  There’s no ace in the third-rate bullpen, either.  Trading away an underperforming pitcher like Kenny Rogers along with an aging bat like Sheffield or maybe even a big name like Pudge Rodriguez or (I can’t believe I’m typing this) Magglio Ordonez might bring two or three ace pitchers to beef up the staff.  What was unthinkable last week has to be an option now.  A blockbuster trade like that could go a long way toward righting the ship.

Whatever happens, something big needs to change right now or what was supposed to be a stellar season will instead be a spectacular failure on the scale of an earthquake.  This is not a good baseball team right now — and we’ll be lucky to finish above .500.  Woe is May.