Even the teams who do everything well, that’s their identity.

The Tigers don’t have one. They’ve won and lost games with pitching. They’ve won and lost games with hitting. They’ve won and lost games with defense. For now, they don’t know who they are, and, if they don’t develop something soon, something like the Giants did last year, it’s going to be terminal.

It’s early. I recognize that. 20 games in the grand scheme of a marathon season is fairly meaningless, especially the first 20. That said, injuries and frustration can snowball. We saw that tragically in 2007 and 2008. And, in a way, it’s starting to feel that way again.

For those of you who have read my stuff in the past, you know I pride myself on collectedness and being the consummate “non-panicker.” So don’t take this the wrong way, I reserve judgment on this team, I still think there is potential for a postseason run.

I just relay concerns. Concerns that you probably already have, but I wanted to put on paper.

I worry that the aforementioned snowball is even more possible given this is Jim Leyland’s 6th year with the organization. Is his act wearing thin? Will he be able to do what he did in 2006 after a lackluster start, sitting the team down and snap them into a contender? I don’t know, but I’m concerned he may be a Larry Brown type.

I worry that my sabermetrician friends were right about Austin Jackson and his BABIP all along. Identity or not, you cannot expect to be successful with a leadoff hitter on a record-setting strikeout pace (24 Ks in 80 PA).

I worry that Rick Porcello might, just might, not be that good. His inability to adjust (barring yesterday’s performance in Seattle) has been infuriating.

I worry that Victor Martinez may have a lingering groin injury all season. Without him, it’s hard to envision a penant chase. I worry about Magglio, too.

I worry that even with Brennan Boesch playing out of his mind, this team is still sub-.500.

This team has played 13 road games, 7 on the west coast, and only 6 home games. There’s plenty of opportunity and time to develop into a team that knows who they are. What they must be, is a team who can depend on starters one through three and hope four and five can alternate quality starts. They must be a team that, despite Leyland’s aggravating aversion to small ball, manufactures runs.

I think they can be those things, but right now, I don’t know who they are.

David Wells claims he was "half-drunk" when he pitched a perfect game in 1998

Admit it … when you read about Miguel Cabrera’s arrest this morning you probably chuckled a little about the whole swigging a bottle of scotch in front of the police part. Of course there’s nothing funny about driving under the influence, and if in fact Cabrera was drunk while he was driving, he should be subject to the full extent of the law. Clearly Cabrera has a drinking problem, but what are the public relations implications for the Tigers?

As a public relations professional (and baseball fan) my advice to the Tigers would be to make a short statement like this: ”All of us in the Tigers community are troubled after hearing of Miguel Cabrera’s arrest this morning. We don’t know all the details at this time, but we’ve been in contact with Miguel and have offered to help in any way we can. Right now our main concern is with Miguel’s health. Obviously we want the best for him and hope he can quickly return to spring training to prepare for the 2011 season.”

End of story from a PR perspective.

Let’s face it, baseball has a storied history when it comes to drunks. Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle were all said to be drunks — and all are hall of famers. Tony LaRussa, arguably one of the best major league managers ever, has had his share of alcohol-related run ins with the law. Wade Boggs could party with the best of them.

The truth is, baseball fans have a high threshold for drunks. David Wells claims he was “half-drunk” when he pitched a perfect game for the Yankees in 1998. And what did it do for his reputation? Did the Yankees admonish him? Did his fans abandon him? Nope — it made him a legend.

Cabrera’s image is what it is. A few weeks in rehab would probably do him some good, but either way fans have a short memory as long as nobody gets hurt. There aren’t too many fans in Philadelphia cursing Michael Vick these days. But could you imagine what the atmosphere in Philly would have been for Vick if he didn’t have an MVP season?