Can’t anybody play this game?&uot; was the remark Casey Stengel made during the 1962 season when his expansion New York Mets finished an abysmal 40-120 to set a record for the most losses in one season in the modern-day era.

Current Detroit Tigers manager Alan Trammell may be wondering what the fuss was all about. His Tigers are on pace this year to shatter that mark, a record of futility not even good enough to be called The Bad News Bears (at the end of the season, they won’t miraculously learn how to catch a fly ball).

Through Sunday the Tigers were 21-65, have three pitchers in danger of losing 20 games, are one of the worst fielding teams in the majors right now, the worst hitting team at .227 and don’t have one name recognition worthy enough to make the All-Star team.

Not that the nightmare comes as a total surprise. Shoot, the Tigers haven’t won since the 1980s and lost 100 games last season. Don’t forget about that 1996 disaster of a team that Sports Illustrated deeme, &uot;the worst thing to come out of Detroit since the Pinto&uot; and lost to its AAA farm team in a exhibition, 13-0.

At this point the Tigers need to get on a roll not to eclipse the mark of Stengel’s Mets in 1962. Roger Craig went 10-26 on the mound that season, and that mark could fall, too, among one unlucky Tiger starter who sticks in the rotation.

&uot;This place stinks, from the front office on down. If I can start on this ball club, I must be the worst pitcher on Earth.&uot;

That was former Tiger right-hander Jose Lima’s parting shots last year to the Detroit Free Press when the club released him.

The point here is the team has been way on the downside since owner Mike Ilitch took over. There were some bright spots right after he took over in 1992 when the club played in old Tiger Stadium and had some decent players.

That old park, unfortunately, was the home of some really good teams &045; the 1984 world champs and the 1987 team that won the division.

Then, came the series of plans to rebuild (wink, wink). What was appearing to be a blossoming rotation some five years ago disintegrated: left-hander Justin Thompson was traded to Texas in the Juan Gonzalez deal before his arm went bust, Brian Moehler was let go and is somewhere in oblivion and Jeff Weaver was shipped to the Bronx.

Trammell lamented to the Free Press after a loss two weeks ago that his young pitchers Jeremy Bonderman, Mike Maroth and Adam Bernero are taking their licks.

Each is just out of high school and, admittedly, has the tools to one day be successful in the bigs (Tom Glavine, you remember, once lost 19 games). Trouble is 20 games seems inevitable, and Craig’s 26 may seem more realistic. Through Sunday the three were a combined 6-37.

The worst part about it? There’s no one to take their place in the rotation. So what can Tram do from here on out?

Might want to get a hot pretzel.

Adam Daigle

is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. You can reach him at (601) 445-3632 or by e-mail at

adam.daigle@natchezdemocrat.com.