DETROIT -- The fact that Kenny Rogers took the mound Thursday on one of the Tigers' Senior Days promotional games was an odd coincidence, not a reason for reflection. It was what happened on the field that had the 43-year-old answering questions about his future.

He doesn't want to think right now about the career decision he faces at season's end. After days like this, though, he admits he can't help but let it enter his mind. He had been pulled from the game after 39 pitches Thursday, eight of which went for Angels base hits. He retired just four of the 12 batters he faced, none in the third inning, and escaped each of his first two innings by doubling off a runner at third base.

In terms of innings, it was Rogers' second-shortest start in three seasons as a Tiger. And after a 7-1 loss to the Angels in the rubber match of a three-game series at Comerica Park, he had enough on his mind trying to figure out what he could've done differently than thinking about longer-term issues like his career.

"Trying to deal with that after a game like today is probably not the best way to decide those things," Rogers said. "Coming off the mound, though, it's hard not to think about it."

Every start, in a way, is a matter of trying to prove to people that he can still pitch -- not necessarily to others, but to himself. Before the Tigers -- or any team -- decide whether to bring him along for 2009, he has to decide whether to stick around for the ride after 20 Major League seasons. And that's not as easy as it sounds.

He admitted in Spring Training that he thought he was done after last season, certain that he didn't want to put himself through the wear and tear on his arm and the time away from his family. Before anyone makes a punchline about that decision in hindsight, keep in mind that he entered the All-Star break as a .500 pitcher with a 4.55 ERA -- workmanlike, though not spectacular.

He's 3-7 with a 7.45 ERA in 10 starts since then, and opponents are batting .336 against him over that stretch. He has allowed as many or more runs than innings pitched in each of his last three starts now, including six runs over two-plus innings Thursday.

Rogers has spent years defying his age. Now he has to decide if he's simply trying to defy the stats.

"I assess my ability and my responsibility as much as anyone," Rogers said. "That will easily have a bearing on what I want to do. I'm not one to hang on."

Again, this was not a good day to think about that.

The frustrating part for Rogers is that he says his arm feels good, very good for this stage of the season for him. Manager Jim Leyland said Rogers is dealing with a sore hip, but Rogers said that's not an excuse. At this point in his life, he believes soreness is part of the deal.

He believes he still has life on his fastball, which has topped 90 mph this year. His sinker, however, has by his admission been flat, which has sent his numbers skyrocketing.

Thursday, though, was more a matter to him of not reacting to Angels hitters, who waited for him to go for the outside corner and dove out over to the plate to swing when he did. His inside pitches to try to brush them off did not have the desired effect.

"We dodged a couple bullets early," Leyland said, "but it was obvious Kenny wasn't sharp."

Of the four straight singles he allowed in the third, two came on 0-2 pitches. Robb Quinlan fouled off back-to-back 0-2 offerings -- one a curveball, the other a fastball -- before chasing an offspeed pitch off the plate and lining it to the opposite field for an RBI single. Mark Teixeira chased a high fastball off the plate and slashed it past a diving Edgar Renteria for another RBI, and that was it for Rogers.

"It was legitimately one of those days," catcher Brandon Inge said. "The whole series, really. They're hot."

Rogers clearly is not.

"You have to make adjustments," Rogers said. "I haven't made enough recently to put good starts together. That's the name of the game. From the get-go today, they were hitting the ball away. It might just be inventing a pitch or two. I don't know."

Leyland said he would check with Rogers on how he's feeling. Asked about any decisions coming out of that, Leyland said that would be "putting the cart before the horse."

Rogers isn't going to make any decisions now, not in this state. The way he finishes the season, though, will have a bearing on what he decides to do come the offseason. To decide anything now, he said, would be "a decision out of frustration."

Yet when he came off the field Thursday to polite cheers, not boos, that had an effect on him, too.

"I can't even explain what that feeling is," Rogers said, "to know you have support like that. Supportive as they have been, I think that makes you want it even more. Sometimes that isn't a good thing."