Tigers' Dombrowski: 'We have to get on a roll'

Minneapolis – As the July 31 trade deadline nears, Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski isn't thinking in terms of buyer vs. seller. He never does.

"We're trying to win this year right now," he said before the game Sunday.

And the mission of trying to improve the team is the same, whether it's the offseason, spring training or leading up to the trade deadline. Still, the question gets asked nearly every year: Will you be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline?

The answer may be pending how the Tigers play coming out of the break.

"I can't speculate," Dombrowski said. "But the reality is, between now and July 31 – I don't know how many games we have, let's say the All-Star break, we've got 10, 11 games – well, if you win 10 or 11 games or you lose 10 or 11 games, that can change the way you are a great deal.

"Nobody can foresee the future. But are there things that happen? Sure. Anything can happen. But I think it's more predicated upon unusual circumstances. So for me, I think we just continue the way we are. We try to get better."

The Tigers will go into the All-Star break 10 losses behind the Royals in the AL Central and 4.5 games behind the second-place Twins. They have played sub-.500 baseball since an 11-2 start.

"We have been very inconsistent through the first half," Dombrowski said. "We haven't really been on a roll since the beginning of the season. Not particularly pleased with where we are, but we're also in a position where if we play to our capabilities in the second half, we have a chance to win still."

Dombrowski pointed out that injuries to Justin Verlander, Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila, as well as the inconsistencies of starting pitchers Alfredo Simon and Shane Greene, have contributed to the team's inconsistency.

"Probably I am a little surprised our pitching hasn't been better overall," he said. "When I say that, you have to be careful because some guys have pitched very well. But overall as a group, I am surprised we haven't pitched a little better.

"There are some reasons for that. We haven't had Justin Verlander in the rotation most of the first half and now we are finally to the point where we are seeing what he's capable of doing. That was a big mountain for us. Kyle Lobstein got hurt and was pitching well for us in that role. Other guys haven't pitched as well as we would have thought."

He was asked directly if the team needed to acquire another starting pitcher.

"We'll see," he said. "I am not going to speculate on what we're going to do at his point. Simon has not pitched well recently, we know that. We think he's a better pitcher than he's pitched. There's been some extenuating circumstances (his father's death).

"Let's see how Shane Greene pitches today. We like Greene a lot. He pitched well early, didn't pitch well after that but it looks like he got back on track in Toledo. We do like him."

Dombrowski was also asked to assess the job of manager Brad Ausmus.

"Brad's done fine," he said. "I think we're all in a situation where for us, none of us are pleased with where we are and I can say that, including Brad. Brad has done a fine job."

If there was any message to Dombrowski's 20-minute briefing, it was that there was no more margin for inconsistency and error. The goals are still attainable, but time is now running short.

"There have been many clubs that have been eight games behind, more than that, at this time of year and have made those games up," he said. "We have a club that has some ability. Getting Verlander back gives us a shot to get on more of a roll from a starting pitching perspective. We like what we saw from (Neftali) Feliz for the bullpen. We've been scoring runs more.

"But we have to get on a roll at some point. We have to. We're not going to be able to play a couple of games, get three games above, then one game above and then back to .500. We are not going to be able to do that and make the postseason. We have to get on a roll."

Other topics:

* On his future with the club (he is in the final year of his contract): "I wouldn't get into my own situation."

* On if his future uncertainty affects how he conducts business right now: "My job every day, no matter how I've been throughout my career, long-term, short-term, I always approach it the same way. I always work as hard as I can and do everything I possibly can. We always work as an organization with ownership with whatever their priorities are at a particular time. It's either to trying to win or a situation where somebody says, like with the Marlins way back when, we're going to break this championship team up. We always work with the owner in that regard and I've done that my whole career."

* On re-signing Yoenis Cespedes: "I wouldn't get into free agency or long term with any of our guys. We have a lot of guys who are free agents at the end of the year. But he's a good player. He's played well for us. We anticipated that he would play well for us and he has. He's a good player. I don't think there's anything he's done that's surprised us."

* Still hope to sign David Price long-term? "Yeah, sure."

Twitter @cmccosky