Lions 2012 NFL Draft recap

I would like to dive into the Lions draft a little bit.  The Mel Kipers and Todd McShay will try to drag out analysis as long as ESPN will let them because now they get a 40 week offseason.  They try to put grades next to each team and predict how certain players will do.  This just isn’t realistic.  Yes, some teams made some interesting picks because of position, but at this point it is really difficult to know how each player will turn out.  There have been multiple Lions picks over the past couple of years that I thought would be special, and now they aren’t in the league or on a different team’s bench. 

In my draft preview entry I wanted the Lions to take a cornerback with their first round pick.  The top 3 options had to be Claiborne, Kirkpatrick, and Gilmore.  Once all three were off the board there seemed to be a little drop off before the next tier of cornerback talent.  Taking Janoris Jenkins with the 23^rd pick would have been a little bit of a reach.  Which is why it would have been nice to drop back a few places (27-33) to pick up an extra pick in the 3^rd round to take this defensive back.  But the Lions did not do that.  They selected Riley Reiff with their first pick.  This is the same tackle who was in the top 10 of most people’s draft boards. He was hands down the 2^nd best OT prospect in the 2012 class.  This is not the Gosder Cherilus reach, it is a high quality player who dropped in their laps again.  There have been a lot of questions about Reiff, he has short arms, he is not a great run blocker, his footwork is subpar.  All I know is that this kid can play both guard and tackle positions, which means he adds a lot of depth and youth to the oldest line in the NFL.  I don’t think this kid will ever be a Pro-Bowl player (which DeCastro could be at guard for the Steelers), but having a player being able to fill in at 4 positions is exactly what the Lions need for next year.  Now, how would I rate this as a successful pick?  I think he needs to be able to come into camp and be a starter by game 1 at either guard or RT.  First round picks need to be instant contributors for most teams.  The Lions should be able to upgrade 2 positions with this pick.  We are still hoping Backus maintains his best LT in the NFC North, Raiola is still an average center, then Reiff comes in immediately at RT which will move Cherilus inside replacing one of the below average guards.  Offensive line will likely be the major need next season in the draft, someone like Barrett Jones of Alabama who can play all 5 positions.  Detroit will need a center replacement and likely a road grater of a guard at some point.  At first I was very disappointed with the first round pick, but I think Reiff will be able to contribute immediately and help with much needed depth in the trenches for the 2012 Detroit Lions.

After taking an offensive lineman in the first round, everyone suspected the Lions needed to take a defensive back with their 2^nd pick.  On Friday, Detroit had 1 legitimate cornerback starter and 3 backups. They needed someone opposite of Chris Houston.  Some media members even wanted the Lions to trade up to get Jenkins.  Instead they stayed back and let a high ceiling slot receiver fall to them.  Ryan Broyles would have been a lock first round pick if he didn’t bust up his knee at the end of the season, but instead he fell to the end of round 2 and became a huge steal for the Lions.  Most people think this pick is one of the best in the draft, and should be an instant threat to catch 50 passes next season.  I actually think he is more of a Burleson replacement, and will likely need most of this year rehabbing his knee and learning the offense.  Once Burleson moves on or is traded, Titus Young can move into the number 2 receiver role and Broyles into one of the best slot guys in the league.  I think Broyles is a more athletic Wes Welker type.  He has huge hands that rarely drop passes, and he is extremely fast.  It really will be tough to defend the Lions offense for years to come. The problem here is that the Lions drafted who they thought was the best available again, and not based on their desperate need for defensive improvements.  They missed out the third tier of defensive back talent and where left to take Dwight “Bill” Bentley from Louisiana Lafayette.  Now according to some, this guy was on the Lions radar to take in the 2^nd round.  With Broyles and so many defensive backs still on the board they were confident Bentley would be there at 85 overall.  I am not sure how the Lions will be able to keep all of their offensive weapons happy next season (Calvin, Burleson, Young, Broyles, Pettigrew, Scheffler, Best, and Leshore), but the receiving corps is shaping up to have Burleson on the trading block.  Possibly with a team looking to dump a defensive back (Dallas, Cincinnati).  I think Broyles will be pretty ineffective this season while rehabbing his knee, but in 2 seasons might be the most dangerous receiver in the NFC (especially with teams having to double team Calvin).  This Broyles pickup also might mean the Lions believe in the Madden Curse and wanted to make sure they had enough talent at receiver in case Calvin goes down to injury. 

The rest of the draft is littered with cornerbacks and pass rushing linebackers, mostly from Oklahoma.  I personally think Ronnell Lewis will be used at times next season and will try to be molded to break the 2 deep at defensive end after VandenBoesch and Avril are gone.  I think this Lions draft is full of potential, and hopefully they can finally get some production out of one of their late round draft picks.  If Bentley(or one of the other CB picks) can come in and push for the starting number 2 cornerback, then this draft should be considered a success.   If the Lions just drafted 3 defensive backs to be backups and practice squad players then it could be a long year for the defense.  I do think the depth issues at linebacker have been addressed this season, the defensive line got a little upgrade, the secondary has more bodies now but we are months away from determining if these are talented contributing bodies.  The offensive line depth will need some improvement, maybe through some undrafted free agents or as the main focus of next year’s draft. It will likely take a season or two for the fans to notice this draft class’ contributions, but hopefully 2-3 of these guys can see the field for a good chunk of snaps this year. 

Verlander & Schlereth of the Series (Yankees)

The Tigers were able to get one win in New York, and they played well enough to win 2.  A series win is much needed as it has been 3 straight series losses for Detroit.  They aren’t playing well, and they haven’t for most of two weeks.  Yet, they are still 11-11 in a terrible division and Doug Fister is scheduled to return next week in Seattle.  Things are looking a little brighter for the Olde English D. 

The Verlander of the Yankees series has to be Drew Smyly.  This 22 year old rookie is quickly becoming one of our most reliable starters.  Just think how bad this start would be if he was pitching like a normal rookie.  He again gave up just one earned run from a solo homerun to get his first major league win.  It is a pretty special day when that comes in the Bronx against the Pinstripers. He went 6+ innings striking out 7 and only giving up 2 hits.  So far on the season he has faced 3 of the top 5 offenses (Tampa, Texas, and New York) and has surrendered just 1 solo homerun in each of these starts.  He also went to Kansas City and didn’t allow a run, but got the no decision.  So far the Tigers are 3-1 in his 4 starts, and the 1 loss happened because of errors and poor bullpen pitching.  To compare, the Tigers are 3-2 in Verlander’s 5 starts.  If Duane Below can carry over his bullpen success to the starting role, it gives Leyland some leverage to hold over Scherzer to improve asap or else this rotation will not be able to support his dead weight.  I know it is early, but Smyly is making a bid to become the Rookie of the Year in the AL, and who knows maybe this award should be re-titled the Smyly of the Series since he has now taken it twice and Jv still has the goose egg.

The Schlereth of the Series will be given to Delmon Young.  Yes, there are a few other players who deserve it for their play on the field (Max, Potato Head, the home plate ump yesterday, etc), but Delmon wins in a landslide because he is just a moron. If you didn’t hear, he was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning for verbally abusing a Jewish man asking for money on the streets of New York City.  He did this while completely intoxicated.  While some of the media members are trying to stick up for him as much as possible, saying the sleep schedule for MLB players is such that it is not uncommon to be out until 3-4am most nights.  These actions are severe enough to have the Tigers drop him from the roster and likely end his career.  It was the 6 year anniversary of him throwing a bat at an ump because he didn’t like a ball-strike call in the minor leagues. Even if staying up until 3 or 4am is standard practice for big leaguers, I am not sure what is wrong with drinking at the hotel bar to avoid a public intoxication outburst. It sounds like he will be back in the lineup during this home stand, and Dave Dombrowski has stated that nothing more will happen to Delmon.  I think Mr. Young will be treading lightly for the rest of the season because he is one misstep away from being unemployed.  I now understand why the Twins gave him up for an old bag of peanuts and a half eaten hot dog.  Maybe us fans will finally get to see Andy Dirks play more left field. 

Verlander & Schlereth of Mariners series

For the second installment of Verlander (MVP) and Schlereth (opposite of MVP) on the season leaves little choose from for one and about 25 people left for the other.  If you watched the last series you know what I am talking about.  I managed to find a couple to single out and discuss.

Verlander: Miguel Cabrera.  Since his little 0-22 streak he had a couple weeks ago, he is 13 for his last 37 which includes 3 homeruns and 7 RBI.  This is pretty impressive since lately it seems that neither Boesch or Jackson can get on base before him.  He is not as locked in as he was during August/September of last season, but it is still April and batting .300+ with 6 HR’s is still impressive.  Seattle was able to keep him off balance a little bit, and overall I would say they did a pretty good job pitching to him.  The problem is that he is (in my opinion) the best hitter in MLB and even with 1 or 2 bad at bats in a game, he is still up 2 or 3 more times.  He has been hitting the ball pretty hard, mostly to left field lately.  I will be excited to see how his Yankee series goes.  Some of those long fly balls he has hit, in the last week, to left or right center would have been gone in 90% of the parks in baseball currently. Even with the team not playing well, we are extremely lucky as fans.  Miguel Cabrera’s at bats are nearly must see TV (when my wife looks up from the book she is reading just to see what the big fella does, you know he is special).  The second tier of the Verlander award has to go to whoever (Leyland) made the decision to send Adam Wilk back to AAA and to send Brandon Inge packing.  Hopefully Below can continue his success in the starting role, but man does this team need Doug Fister back (but that doesn’t seem likely for at least a couple more weeks).

Schlereth of the series: So many to choose here, this might be one of the toughest awards to give out all season.  I think I was the most disappointed and frustrated with Max Scherzer’s start on Tuesday night.  Looking at the starting matchups before the series started, in order to get 2 games we needed Max and Rick to pitch well.  Max started off the series by hurling a stinker.  He has looked absolutely terrible in his 2 starts in Comerica this season, hopefully he can pull it together this weekend in New York.  As Detroit fans I think we have all seen this show enough already (7 IP 10K’s 2 ER’s then followed by 4 IP 10H 4BB’s and 6 ERs).  It is time for him to make another step as a pitcher and become more consistent.  If this team is going to win the World Series, he is going to have to pitch well.  If he cannot make this step, it seems like Jacob Turner will have a position in the starting rotation come next season.  The most frustrating part of this last start was it happened against Seattle, the worst offense in baseball.  Come on Max you have to do better than that.  The second tier Schlereth’s of the series: the entire infield defense, Brennan Boesch, Adam Wilk.

I look forward to the series where it will become tough to pick the MVP because everyone played so well (I suppose that happened against Boston the first weekend of the year, but it was before I was writing this new segment).   

Tigers Week 3 Recap (10-9)

As you can see by the record, the Tigers finished up a 1-6 week.  It is a week that included being swept by the worst team in the AL, Seattle Mariners.  After today’s debacle, the Mariners are 8-2 in their last 10 games at Comerica Park.  Hopefully when September rolls around we can see that this was the worst week of the season for the Tigers, but things will need to improve quickly if they are going to stop this drought as the Boys of Summer (that better be true because they definitely are not liking Spring) head to Yankee Stadium. 

There is not much to be encouraged by the baseball team in Detroit over the past week.  After today’s game, some people are saying “well at least that one was closer.”  It is really hard to continue to say it is early and they will get things together.  In my rational part of my brain I know that is the case.  The baseball season is a marathon, and the past week was just trying to run with a cramp (or maybe a sprained ankle).  The question now is how soon does this pothole in the season get corrected?  The answer on Sunday was, at least the Mariners are coming to town, but maybe the bats will get going again in the softball field they call Yankee Stadium against a real MLB team and not a AAA one. 

The Rangers are an extremely good team, and with Yu Darvish improving with each start, they are becoming one of the most balanced teams the league has seen in recent years.  Yes, they came into Detroit on a major heater.  Yes, they played the best baseball a team could play (regardless of month).  Yes, Detroit countered by throwing 2 rookie starting pitchers at the best lineup in baseball.  And yes, Detroit turned to another rookie to make his major league debut in the 11^th inning of the series finale.  Needless to say, the Rangers hardly saw even Detroit’s B game.  The 4 games were still tough to take.  It was a matchup of the number 1 and 2 teams in the Power Rankings.  The Sunday game was nationally broadcast. People were watching to see an epic battle, but Detroit will make them wait a little while longer. Detroit’s bats continued to be silent, starting pitching was embarrassing for 2 starts, the bullpen wasn’t much better, and defensive mistakes finally starting catching up with the team.  It did cost us the lead in the last game, and it almost cost us the lone win as well.  Our one saving grace was Justin was on the mound for the one win, but because he threw 133 pitches in his last start he wasn’t nearly as sharp and only lasted 6 innings.  The team was out of sync, but we all hoped it would turn around when the lowly Mariners came to town. 

Boy were we wrong.  To put it lightly, the Mariners came in and pummeled the Tigers.  The worst offense in baseball had 39 hits in 3 games, they chased our starting pitchers early.  Detroit finished with 5 errors and 3 more plays that could have been.  I don’t know if Detroit could have played worse, and if they can I really want to be warned beforehand because this last series was painful enough.  Max got lit up like the Michigan Stadium scoreboard, Wilk has become a BP pitcher, and Porcello throws beach balls in the first inning.  But as bad as the pitching was, the hitting wasn’t far behind.  The Tigers continue to fall short with runners in scoring position with less than 2 outs.  This team has to be able to manufacture some runs because hitting homeruns all the time is not the answer. Miguel did get a little bit of a power surge over the weekend as he hit 3 home runs over the home stand.

The best part of the last week might have been the demotions.  Daniel “I stink worse than my dad” Schlereth, Adam Wilk, and Brandon Inge have all been moved from the big league team.  Brandon got released and will never wear the olde English D again.  Us fans can finally move on. 

Looking forward, the Tigers get to play in New York for a 3 game set and then back in Comerica against the Royals.  It will be a very important week because Detroit really needs to stop this losing slide they are in.  I am excited to see Justin’s performance against the Yankees tomorrow night.  He has one of the best ERA’s in the league right now, but also one of the worst run supports.  So far Detroit is scoring less than 3 runs a game for the ace.  It will be nice if the Tigers can give him a low stress game at some point soon.  It will be good to see the team win another series here, hopefully against the Yankees.  Can JV continue his hot start, can Smyly continue his rookie of the year pace, can Max have a quality start?  Another concerning note is Prince Fielder has gone the longest time between homeruns in his career.  Nobody is taking notice of this since Albert Pujols has not launched one yet, but Biggy has gone 17 games without a bomb.  Hopefully the joke of a short porch in right field will help him this weekend.  

NFL Draft is here!

To some people, tonight can feel like Christmas morning.  It is a night that offers hope and excitement to NFL fans and teams.  After months of evaluations, combines, interviews, and mock drafts, the real thing is finally here.  Since the Lions are my NFL team, I want to take a look into their draft mentality and throw out some names that I think would improve the up and coming team.  Also, since I think mock drafts are about as useful as wet toliet paper, I want to take a shot at some sure-fire picks and potential busts.

Even though our very own Detroit Lions were a playoff team last year, they have a lot of needs in this year's draft.  They can draft almost any defensive position, and pick up some reinforcements for the offensive line.  I personally think their biggest need is in pass defense. They currently have 1 legitimate corner back returning in the secondary.  It is the same secondary that made the 2010 Michigan defense look amazing.  Matt Flynn should send them all thank you cards, because his 1,000 yard 10 TD performance against us in week 17 made him a lot of money in the offseason.  This 2012 draft class is extremely deep in the secondary, and I think the Lions should do what they can (without trading up) to pick up 2 back end defenders in their first 3 or 4 picks.  Dre Kirkpatrick, Stephon Gilmore, or Mark Barron seem to be sure picks if they are available by pick 23.  If all of these guys have been picked earlier in the round, I think the Lions should try to trade down to accumulate another 2nd or 3rd round pick.  As much as Janoris Jenkins' off-field issues have become public, I think he is the 2nd best cover corner in this draft.  I think he will be around late in round 1, so a trade down to 29 or so would still allow Detroit to pick up a starter opposite of Chris Houston. 

The other avenue the Lions management can take is to bulk up their defensive line, and continue to prove this is the strength of the defense.  The best way to make a cornerback look like an All-Pro is to put him on a team that gets to the quarterback all the time. The pass rushing depth in this class is also extremely deep.  If the top 3 choices are not around, and the Lions cannot find a trade partner a DE has to be the next option.  With Cliff Avril likely to be gone after the year and VandenBoesch in a contract year, the defensive ends need some help.  Also, an addition with a highly touted end will decrease Avril's leverage over the Lions to sign him to a high paying, long term contract.  A few DE's that I would look at are Courtney Upshaw, Whitney Mercilus, or Chandler Jones.

Ideally I would like Stephon Gilmore to head to the Motor City with the first round pick, and if not then taking Janoris Jenkins after a trade down.  If the Lions do not take a DB with their first pick, they put themselves in a corner and almost HAVE to pick a cornerback with their 2nd round pick.  I would be angry, and maybe a little sick to my stomach, if the Lions trade up again for the 3rd straight draft.  Depending on what they give up, my anger would subside a bit if they were able to pick up a player like Barron.  I would also be upset if a running back is selected at any point in the first 2 days of the draft (1st-3rd round). 

Justin's Draft Locks:
All of the Bama defensive prospects. Ok, ok maybe not all of them, but I think these guys are more NFL ready than most others just because of the coaching and system that they run down there.  I would be very comfortable with any of their first rounders jumping into the Lions roster and competing for a starting spot immediately.  I like the Stanford guard DeCastro and their TE Colby Fleener, I like WR Stephen Hill and finally DE Brockers. 

Potential Busts:
QB Tannehil, since Luck and RGIII are locks for the top 2 picks it will leave the lower part of the top 10 in a place to reach for a QB prospect.  The lucky pick this year is Tannehil, and I just dont think he is the answer as an NFL starter.  Dontari Poe, DT from Memphis.  He is the top performing defensive tackle from the combine, but I think he is more of a workout warrior and not an NFL Pro-Bowler.  Finally, I think Justin Blackmon is a little over-rated.  Yes, he is a very good receiver, and I am sure he will have a nice NFL career, but for being a top 5 pick I dont think his numbers will match his draft pick.  He just is not as athletic or physical as Andre Johnson or Calvin Johnson, and I think his offensive system in college inflated his numbers quite a bit.  As much as I dont like to say it, I think Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd will be one of the best WR's coming out of this draft.

Tiger Improvements

While it is too early to push the panic button, or even be too concerned about the 2012 Detroit Tigers, I just wanted to go through some of my frustrations with the young season.  The Tigers are struggling to manufacture runs, which usually results in an overall struggle to score a lot of runs.  The bullpen is in the top 5 of innings pitched already this season, and the predicted poor defense is starting to catch up with the team.

The Tigers have been put together to score runs, and score a lot.  They did not get in the Darvish sweepstakes, they let Washington take Gio Gonzalez, CJ Wilson was passed up, and the list could go on.  Instead, Mike Illitch decided to spend his money on Prince Fielder. I think there were other moves that could have made this team a better post season team, but picking up one of the most feared left handed hitters is exciting.  I love that we have the 5'11" bowling ball on the roster to protect Miggy.  So far this year the Tigers have not been living up to their claim to fame.  After the opening weekend against Boston, Detroit has the worst OBP in the AL.  There has been a lot of times already that the lead off hitter will get on base and then they cannot get them home.  It seems every game the Tigers will get a runner to 3rd with less than 2 outs and nobody can get the RBI.  It is becoming really frustrating because you don't even need a hit in this situation, hit the ball to the outfield or a ground ball anywhere right of the 3rd baseman.  It seems like the only way Detroit has been able to score is from the homerun ball, this is concerning in general (even when the team is bombing homeruns left and right) but it is a little scary when nobody is actually hitting the ball out of the park.  For the first 2 series of the season it seemed like every hitter was getting good at bats, but lately we have been lucky to see 1 good AB per inning.  A good at bat in my mind is not one that has to result in a hit.  Take and waste some pitches to extend innings and pitch counts (last night Austin has 2 pop outs after 2 pitches, and he is in the lead off role).  A sacrifice is a productive at bat, a walk, even 3 ball counts are acceptable.  Right now it seems like a few select hitters are immediately in 0-2 counts as soon as they step in the batters box.  The runs will begin to roll in as soon as the number of quality at bats increase.

The bullpen has had to pitch a lot of innings already.  This is partially because of a Fister injury early in the game, starting two rookies who struggle to get past 5 innings, and 2 horrendous starts that knocked out starters in the 2nd and 3rd innings respectively.  It will be important to get a stretch of quality starts as the season progresses just so the bullpen will be fresh when the playoffs come.  Fister returning to the rotation should be a huge boost to this.  At some point this season it would be really nice to see Scherzer be a consistent starter.  He is already getting into his standard routine of a horrible start then followed up by a few good to great starts, then back to horrible.  It will also be interesting to see how Porcello turns around with his start against the lowly Mariners tomorrow.

Finally, after a near spotless 2 week start to the season in the field, the Tigers have come back down to earth with multiple poor defensive plays in each of the last 5 games. Some of these plays haven't resulted in errors, but if they were made the game could have had a completely different outcome. It is turning out that Brandon Inge is a well below average defensive 2nd baseman, and while Miguel has made some very good plays at 3rd, his lack of range and errors have limited his effectiveness at times. The error bug has hit even the most sure-handed Tigers.  Ramon and Alex have each had errors at critical times that either would have preserved a lead or stopped an inning from blowing up.  The 2012 Tigers will never be confused for the mid-2000s Twins, but the defense needs to improve a lot if the bats continue to struggle.

I still think the Tigers are by far the best in the AL Central, and they should easily win the division and make the playoffs. But after 17 games, there has been some disappointing struggles for our own Tigers.  Hopefully they can turn things around in the last 2 games against Seattle and carry the momentum into the little league park of the Yankees.

MLB Power Rankings #1

ESPN does a weekly segment on MLB Power Rankings, so I figured I would do my first of 10 power rankings of the season.  I wanted to do a preseason rankings, but they are just based on hype on not what is actually happening on the field.  So I have held off for the first 5 series of the season, and now I can’t wait any longer. 

1.       Texas (13-3).  After watching them play live twice over the weekend, there really isn’t a team even close to these guys right now.  Yes, Detroit’s starting rotation was not set up well for this series and the Rangers were coming into the Motor City as the hottest team in baseball, but what the Rangers did was still pretty dang impressive.  As a team, they are batting .310 right now (which is better than everyone but Prince in our starting lineup to give you some perspective.)  The Ranger’s weakness is their starting pitching, except they boast a top 5 ERA right now.  Pretty much, besides the injury to Beltre on Saturday, I don’t know how Texas can play any better now or in October. Texas Rangers: Trending UP (if possible).

2.        New York Yankees (9-6). As much as I don’t like the Pinstripers, they just mashed Boston at Fenway (even though everyone seems to be doing that this year).  Coming back from a 9-0 deficit is pretty impressive, when you start the comeback in the 7^th inning it is almost unbelievable.  The Yankees boppers have started to pick it up over the past week, which isn’t good news for the Olde English D coming to the Big Apple next weekend.  While New York still has a lot of questions in their rotation and bullpen, if they score 7+ runs a game they will be very tough to beat.  NY Yankees: Trending UP

3.       Detroit Tigers (10-6).  This might seem a little high for the hometown team, but these guys are still 10-6 (on pace for 100 wins) even after losing 3 of 4.  The biggest question coming into the season was going to be starting pitching, and so far these guys are answering the bell.  The 4 normal starters in the rotation have all recorded at least 2 quality starts, and once Fister returns I imagine he will quickly catch up.  After the first weekend it looked like the Tigers were going to get to the elusive 1,000 run barrier, but they have cooled dramatically over the last 2 weeks.  They are 10^th in OBP out of 14 AL teams (.306), remove the Red Sox weekend and they likely are 14^th.  Is this a case of cold weather blues, seeing some of the best pitchers in the AL to start the season, or a genuine concern?  The next 16 games should give us a better idea.  Detroit Tigers: Trending slightly DOWN.

4.       Washington Nationals (12-4).  Yes, you read that right.  The Nationals have started out hot and have kept it up over the first 16 games.  They are leading baseball in ERA (2.34) and have already played 8 one run games.  I think this is the case of good luck and some great pitching.  It will be very exciting if they are still in the top 5 in the next power rankings.  Everyone wants to talk about their star pitcher, Strasburg, but I have been very impressed with Gio Gonzalez switching over to the NL.  Washington Nationals: Trending UP

5.       LA Dodgers (12-4): The LA baseball team started out 9-1, mainly because of Matt Kemp making a strong bid for the NL MVP award this season.  He has been an absolute monster to start the year.  Can he threaten for the Triple Crown this season? Outside of Kershaw, I don’t think their pitching staff is deep enough to continue this torrid streak, but there is no reason why they can’t be a major contender in the NL West.  LA Dodgers: Trending NEUTRAL.

6.       St. Louis Cardinals (11-5): Who said these guys were going to miss Albert Pujols? Ok, I am not saying they aren’t, but this start is more than most Cardinals fans could have even hoped for.  The new manager seems to have the players respect, and they are playing hard for him and to prove that they are more than Pujols.  Chris Carpenter’s absence will begin to show soon I think, but they have enough pieces to be competitive in an average NL Central.  St. Louis Cardinals: Trending UP.

7.       Atlanta Braves (10-6): The Braves have had 2 5 game winning streaks already this season.  The first was the result of excellent pitching, and the 2^nd was just from all around domination where they outscored opponents by 31 runs in the 5 games. I think they have a more solid roster than the Nats, and with the Phillies and Marlins struggling, Atlanta will be looking to take an early grasp on the NL East.  This team will be scary whenever Jair Jurjens remembers the season has started.  Atlanta Braves: Trending UP.

8.       Toronto Blue Jays (9-6): Toronto likely is not a top 10 team, but I put them here because I am hoping.  The AL East has been dominated by the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays over the past few seasons, I really hope this year in the Jays year.  They have started out pretty strong, but their normal closer is now on the DL so will they be able to replace him?  Toronto Blue Jays: Trending NEUTRAL.

9.       Tampa Bay Rays (9-7): Tampa has the toughest schedule to open the season, and so far they are doing pretty well to get through it.  Once their schedule lightens up a bit, they can rack up a lot of wins quickly.  They have been similar to the Tigers this season, their strength is pitching and defense but so far it has been their offense carrying them to wins.  Tampa Bay Rays: Trending NEUTRAL.

10.   Chicago White Sox (9-6): This might be the last time 2 AL Central teams crack the top 10 of the power rankings.  For us Tiger fans, lets hope that is the case anyways.  The White Sox flew under the radar this offseason compared to Detroit, but they are no longer being overlooked.  They beat the Tigers in a 3 game home series last weekend, and then Philip Humber just threw a perfect game in Seattle.  I think getting rid of Ozzie will help this team bond and play hard.  As much as I hate to say this, the White Sox team could be a fun one to root for this season.  They have a stable of young power arms coming out of the bullpen.  They have some very good starting pitchers, and Paul Konerko is still there.  While the Tigers are the better team, the White Sox could have the best chance to compete with Detroit over the course of the season.  Chicago White Sox: Trending UP.

11.   Arizona Diamondbacks (8-8): The Dbacks started hot, but then went on a 5 game skid.  They are eagerly awaiting Chris Young and Justin upton to return to the lineup.  Until that can happen, they will continue to slide.  Arizona Diamnondbacks: Trending DOWN.

12.   Cleveland Indians (8-6): The Indians started out hot this season, finishing their first road trip 7-2.  They can thank the extremely easy schedule to begin the season as to why they are ranked so highly.  I just cant see the Indians climbing much higher than this spot right now because the schedule will have to get tougher, and Cleveland does not have enough firepower to keep up.  Cleveland Indians: Trending UP.

13.   San Francisco Giants (7-7): I thought the Giants were going to make a playoff push this year with Posey coming back.  But SF suffered another huge season ending injury for the 2^nd year in a row, closer Brian Wilson needs Tommy John surgery and will hopefully be back for the start of next season.  This team has some big holes to fill, but right now the starting pitching (besides Tim Lincecum) is stepping up to help this team win.  The NL West race is already intriguing with 2 of the teams suffering from some major injuries early in the year.  SF Giants: Trending NEUTRAL.

14.   Philadelphia Phillies (7-9): Some people still have these guys as a top 10 team… really?  Yes their talent level is likely still top 10, but they are not playing that way.  I don’t think they should be entitled to a top 10 ranking.  Clif Lee is now of the DL with a non-serious injury, but it will still be interesting to see if this team can score enough runs to keep up with the top of their division.  Philadelphia Phillies: Trending DOWN.

15.   Baltimore Orioles (9-7): The Orioles have also benefitted from a below average strength of schedule to start off the year.  Their winning record will likely not stick around too long.  The Orioles are a below average team in the best division in baseball, and quickly their record will be worse than they actually are. Baltimore Orioles: Trending NEUTAL.

16.   Colorado Rockies (8-7):  Colorado is sneaking under the radar in the NL West, and they are the 2^nd place team in the division currently.  If Jamie Moyer can give them a quality start every other time on the mound, the Rockies will surprise some people.  I still do not think they are as talented as the Dodgers or as fundamentally sound as the Giants and will likely be that next tier with the D’backs.  Colorado Rockies: Trending UP.

17.   Miami Marlins (7-8): The Ozzie Guillen experiment almost met an abrupt ending with some of his reckless Fidel Castro comments, but in the midst of that the baseball team has been steadily improving.  Their record was helped out by playing the lowly Cubbies.  If Hanley Ramierez can actually be a good teammate, and just shut up and play 3^rd base this team could push for a wild card spot.  I am still waiting for the team to implode with so many dugout characters.  Miami Marlins: Trending UP.

18.   New York Mets (8-6): The other New York team has also been helped out by a weak schedule to start the campaign.  The Mets are just not that good, but David Wright has been a monster in their first 14 games, and they have had some good pitching.  This is very similar to the Orioles situation, the Mets are a below average team in a very good division.  Even if they show some major improvements they are slotted for the bottom of the NL East.  NY Mets: Trending DOWN.

19.   Milwaukee Brewers (7-9): The Brew Crew have struggled to start the year, which was to be expected with Prince leaving a giant hole in the middle of the lineup.  Unlike the Cardinals, they don’t really have anyone to step in to sort of fill the shoes of the big guy.  Aramis Ramirez was a bad pickup, and Ryan Braun will likely struggle with little protection.  The bullpen has been struggling to start the season as well.  Lucky for them they play in a bad division as well, so it will take quite a bit for them to not be in contention.  Milwaukee Brewers: Trending DOWN.

20.   California Angels of Anaheim Orange County Cyprus Township at Disney (6-10): The Angels paid all of this money to win, and they just haven’t been clicking yet.  This team is unbelievably talented, but has forgot that a World Series is earned not just awarded to the “expert’s” choice.  I think they will begin to turn it around, but a lot of it will depend on if their bullpen will be able to hold up.  They are among the worst bullpen ERA’s in the AL right now.  Also, how much longer will we have to wait for Albert’s first home run of the season?  California Angels: Trending NEUTRAL.

21.   Oakland Athletics (8-9): This is another team that has benefitted from a weak schedule to begin the year.  The Cuban Centipede has been a pleasant surprise to begin the season, although currently he is looking like a straight power hitter and struggling to get on base with regularity.  But, this has been the problem with the entire lineup, the A’s have a dismal .277 OBP so far this year. Oakland Athletics: Trending DOWN.

22.   Cincinnati Reds (7-9): The Reds are a confusing team, they should be good enough to be a playoff contender, but they seem to consistently underperform.  The Cincy fans are begging for flame thrower Chapman to be moved to the starting rotation, and I wonder how long management will be able to resist.  Seems like the winner of this division will not have much more than 85 wins this season, so this race has a long ways to go.  Cincinnati Reds: Trending NEUTRAL.

23.   Seattle Mariners (7-10): The Mariners just got a perfect game thrown on them at home, and they blew a great start by Felix Hernandez.  When will Felix the cat get out of the death trap in the Northwest?  Seattle will struggle again to score runs this season, but their pitching staff has been above average so far.  I doubt Seattle will be able to climb out of the AL West basement. Seattle Mariners: Trending DOWN.

24.   Pittsburgh Pirates (6-9): I don’t know if there is a team in baseball that I would like to see in the playoffs more than the Pirates (besides the Tigers of course).  I couldn’t even imagine how frustrating it would be to be a fan of Pittsburgh.  Their stadium is beautiful, and draws crowds from all over (hopefully me in late June), their management is making money off the team yet refuses to invest in itself to improve. McCutchen is an exciting player that is hidden by the awfulness, and the team is trying to build around him with all of their early draft picks, but for some reason their scouts are striking out on young talent.  Erik Bedard is trying to restart his career, but is 0-4 with a 2.63 ERA so far.  If that doesn’t scream frustration, I am not sure what will.  Pittsburgh Pirates: Trending DOWN.

25.   Boston Red Sox (4-10): While the Red Sox might be playing the worst baseball in either league right now, I cannot put them last because they are still incredibly talented.  Their bullpen is a mess and the Sox faithful has already turned on Bobby Valentine.  It looks like the players are not responding to the increased discipline of their new skipper.  Since the start of September 2011, the BoSox starters have an ERA above 6.00.  It might be good for this team to get away from Fenway again.  A leader needs to step up and rally this team, even if it is just for self pride… these guys are too good to be this bad. Boston Red Sox: Trending free fall DOWN.

26.   Minnesota Twins (5-11): The Twins got some timely hitting from Mauer and Morneau over their last road trip which must be a good sight for those from Minny-soh-ta, too bad their pitching staff is not clicking yet.  The Twins did almost finish .500 after a tough road trip.  Minnesota Twins: Trending UP.

27.   Kansas City Royals (3-12): This is a usual sight to see this early in the season.  The Royals with the worst record in baseball, except this year they are actually pretty talented.  The reason they aren’t dead last is because the other 3 teams are really that bad.  Eric Hosmer has gotten off to a slow start (along with the rest of the offense), but he has been hitting the ball extremely hard lately.  I think that results in some increased production soon.  Kansas City Royals: Trending DOWN.

28.   Houston Astros (6-10): If the Cubbies weren’t in this division, Houston might break the record for most losses in a season.  Luckily for these two teams, they get to play each other enough that they could each get to 50.  The Astros are trying to incorporate the next generation of players from their farm system, the problem is they are just not that good. Houston Astros: Trending DOWN.

29.   Chicago Cubs (4-12): It will be a very compelling race to see which Central division is the worst in baseball.  The NL variety has 3 average teams and 2 bottome dwellers, while the AL has one good team and 4 below average ones. The Cubs are hoping new GM Theo Epstein can rid them of the terrible contracts and begin to infuse the North siders with some young talent.  Chicago could be a team to watch next offseason, but for now they should pay you to watch them.  Chicago Cubs: Trending DOWN.

30.   San Diego Padres (5-12):  Last and definitely least here.  San Diego is in the midst of full blow up mode after trading any sort of talent they had last season.  Their payroll is low to match their talent.  I am not sure what the future holds with this organization, but this year is already one to forget.  San Diego Padres: Trending DOWN.

MVP & Schlereth of the Series (Rangers)

Like I have stated before that one of my friends is doing a series by series recap of the Tigers season, I have decided to do a weekly look back.  But sitting here at work on a Monday morning is making me want to blog about our own Boys of Summer.

I will keep to my weekly report, but will add a post that has my choice of MVP and Schlereth of each series and try not to get too in depth with each game recap.   In case you are not aware of the current state of the Tigers, Daniel Schlereth has been on the team for a couple of years now.  He made the Opening Day roster out of Spring Training, and then continued to work on his reputation as the worst MLB pitcher on any roster.  So, the Schlereth of the Series will be for the player/ coach who struggled the most. 

The Texas series got off to a pretty rough start with the Tigers getting outscored 20-7 in two games, but then finished reasonably strong.  A blown call by an ump plated the winning run in extra’s in the series finale, which kept Detroit from splitting the 4 gamer.

The MVP of the weekend series will be a split one.  1A has to be Drew Smyly.  The 22 year old kid has faced 3 of baseball’s toughest offenses in his first 3 career major league starts, and has given up a whopping 2 earned runs in 16 innings.  In those 16 innings he also has 15 strikeouts, including 7 yesterday. The 2 earned runs have been on 2 solo home runs.  I expected Smyly to be more polished than Jacob Turner or Andy Oliver, but I didn’t expect him to start his career with 2 quality starts out of 3 (and his first start only lasted 4 innings because of pitch count, not because he was hit hard).  It will be interesting to see how he can continue to keep MLB hitters off balance, and if this start has more to do with the cold weather or if Smyly will be a fixture in the rotation for years to come. I would like to see him continue to work on his pitch count, and possibly get to the 7^th inning at some point this season.  But for now, we cannot ask for of this youngster.  Drew gets little to no break for his next start, as he is slotted to start the Fox National Game of the Day on Saturday afternoon in Yankee Stadium… good luck. 

1B.. I will go with Duane Below.  The reason he is 1B and not a clean tie for MVP is that his 7 scoreless innings over the weekend series came when the game was already out of reach.  Below kept the best lineup in baseball off balance during his time on the mound.  He is turning into one of the best relievers out of the bullpen for this Tiger team. 

Verlander would have been a decent choice here, but since he threw 2,000 pitches against the Royals.. he was only able to get through 6 innings against the Rangers on Saturday night.  But the win stopped the Rangers winning streak and cooled off their bats.  It was as close to a must win game as one in April can get, and JV was his normal self, looking unhittable. 

The Schlereth of the Series goes to….. Well there are so many to choose from in this 4 game set.  Schlereth finally did enough to be sent down to AAA with a 5 run inning, followed up by giving up a homerun on Saturday. Porcello could barely record an out in his start. Brandon Inge looked terrible at 2^nd on Saturday (at times in both games).  Avila had 2 errors in the game yesterday, with one of them moving the tying run to 3^rd with less than 2 outs.  He was brought home with a sac fly from the next hitter.  But, with all of those bad performances I have to crown myself this weekend.  I have been to 3 Tigers games on the year, and Detroit is 0-3 in these matchups.  They have lost just 4 games in Comerica all season.  What is the worst part of these losses is 2 of the 3 have been lost on the opponents last at bat.  I was lucky enough to see Verlander’s melt down, and then yesterday’s extra-inning game.  I am hoping that the trend is the home team losing games that I attend, and that it can continue for at least another 2 months.  I am headed to Wrigley for a random Cubs game and then Fenway, Great America Ballpark, and possibly PNC to watch road Tigers games. If the jinx is just me with the Tigers, maybe I should reconsider getting season tickets next year.

Night on the town... in the D

Ok people, I am trying to recap each week of the Tiger's season because there are too many games to do each one, and a friend is doing his analysis of every series.  But, I couldn't wait for next Thursday/Friday to write the week 3 recap. 

If you didn't catch the game last night, well then luck you.  It turned out to be pretty ugly, which looking back on it we should have expected with Wilk making his first start against the best lineup in baseball.  It was the perfect storm of awful.  But I was able to go to the game and use my company seats, which happen to be in the Tiger Den.  If you haven't sat there before, I highly recommend it.  If you were at the game, you likely know that it was terrible.  The weather channel lied big time to us, and instead of the temperatures staying in the 60s, they dropped to low 50s with a pretty stiff wind (which happened to be at our face for 4 hours).  The Tigers played their worst game of the season to date, I don't think batting practice really ever ended for the Rangers.  Also, it has caused me to be exhausted for work today.  So why was this game so special to me?  Because of this below:

Yes, that is a soft pretzel, and yes it is twice the size of my head.  But the pretzel wasn't the reason for the joy (although it didn't hurt).  I was able to go with 3 of my friends and spend an entire night just having fun.  We got spoiled with company seats (for free) and a parking pass, and we stayed until the bitter end of the game (with 700 other crazy people). 

The party started with a beer and cigar in the sun of my apartment's porch.  If you know me (and my wife), you would know that cigars are a guilty pleasure that someone special doesn't necessarily encourage.  But this was a special occasion, so you might as well go all out I say.  Then the four of us headed into Detroit to grab some dinner, and on the way we were able to witness a roadside bathroom break (in rush hour).  Detroit never ceases to amaze me. 

Cheli's was the destination for dinner, after watching some of the Rangers put on a show for batting practice.  After enjoying some chili and adult beverages, it was time for baseball.  The game started out with a bang, and was a pretty good indication of how the night would turn out.  Andrew Wilk struggled against the best lineup in baseball, which should have been expected.  You have to tip your cap to the Rangers though, and the power of scouting reports.  Jim Leyland picked Wilk to replace the injured Fister because he throws strikes and doesn't walk many people.  In his start against Chicago he threw first pitch strikes to almost every batter, and the White Sox were forced to take a pitch or two since it was the first time anyone had seen this young guy pitch in the majors before.  Well the Rangers were not waiting around.  At one point, Wilk was 1 pitch away from striking out the side in the first with 14 pitches.  These 14 pitches included 2 prior strike outs, 3 hits, and 1 run allowed.  There were a lot of aggressive hitting.  Wilk did his best to strand runners (which Texas ended up with 13 men LOB), and when he left the Tigers were still in striking distance. 

Last night was also the first outing in Detroit for the next Japanese (overpaid) prince Yu Darvish.  He allowed 2 hits, but was not impressive in doing so.  He did manage to keep the Tigers off balance enough to limit many good swings.  He lasted 6.1 innings with 121 pitches and 5 walks.  Not super impressive, but he left with a 5-1 lead. 

The Tigers did their best to use all AAA pitchers last night.  Wilk started the game, Balester followed (giving up 3 runs, 2 unearned), and Schlereth followed.  Below did finish the game, which he is becoming one of my favorite relievers.  Schlereth followed up Balesters less than spectacular performance with one of the worst pitching performances I have ever witnessed... why is this guy on the roster?  Is there really nobody else that can at least throw strikes, I dont understand.  But the time the stinky southpaw was pulled, his stat line read: 1 IP, 6 hits, 3 BBs, 0 K's, and 5 ER.  Just in case you dont like math, that is a 45.00 ERA and a 9.00 WHIP.  Hmm, as bad as it was it probably lowered his ERA.  Last night made 4 straight appearances where he has walked the first hitter he has faced.  He comes out throwing balls and continues to not locate pitches at all. 

The game ended with a lopsided 10-3 Rangers win.  They finished with 19 hits, and Tiger's pitchers had 6 walks and there were 2 fielding errors thrown in.  Basically, a bad stat line for Rangers hitters last night was 1-4 with 2 BBs (Josh Hamilton).  The hitters didn't get good swings until the 8th inning, when we were actually a hit away from making the score 10-6.  A split against the best team in baseball right now would be great, and last night was not one of the 2 wins expected.  It is one that hopefully the Tigers and the fans forget quickly.

Some things to look forward to... I, like many people, thought the Angels were the team to beat in the AL this year, but Texas is continuing to show they are the 2 time defending AL champion.  They are the class of baseball right now.  Their lineup looks almost impossible to hold under 4 runs (they have more games over 10 runs, than under 4).  While, their starting pitching is their weakness, they have been very good to start the season.  If the Tigers do end up meeting these guys in the postseason again it will be a different story in a 7 game playoff series.  The Tigers are counting on having a healthy Verlander and Fister (which are better than Texas 1-2), Wilk, Balester, and Schlereth will likely not see any postseason action.  Even if Verlander only pitches game 1 and 5, leaving game 2 and 6 for Fister, I feel confident that the Tigers could win 3 of those 4 starts.  This means that out of the other 3 games we just need 1 more good start from Max or Rick which is a very good possibility.. and even if they don't... our hitters can explode for a 10 run game almost as much as the Rangers can (especially with VMart expected to come back in the 5 hole).  Last night was rough, but the Tigers are still going to have a great season, and have a very good chance of having the best regular season record in the AL. 

I still love my Tigers and had a blast watching a game from a great view with great friends, and I would do it all again in a heart beat!

Go Tigers!

Tigers Week 2 recap (9-3)

It hasn’t been exactly one week since my last week review, but I wanted to make this entry before the Tigers start their weekend series vs the Rangers.  Our Boys of Summer just finished their first road trip of the season, and come home with a 4-2 record from the 2 series.  The trip started out a little rocky, but finished strong.  Detroit now has two 4 game winning streaks on the year, this includes 2 sweeps out of 4 series.  Although they didn’t win the Chicago series, their cumulative road record is equivalent to 2 series wins.  Detroit has started out extremely hot on the season, the 9-3 record is enough to give them a 2.5 game lead over the 2^nd place White Sox.  

Let’s jump into the action.  The bats went dead against the South-siders over the weekend.  I knew this team wouldn’t be able to score 7 runs a game for the season, but I was a little surprised with how much they were shut down against the Sox.  The first game was full of strikeouts, but then in the later innings the Tigers were able to hit the ball hard.  The problem here was that they couldn’t buy a break with Chicago making two spectacular diving plays to save multiple runs. Saturday the at bats were pretty terrible, and they could only scrape together a late Boesch home run for their lone score of the afternoon.  Sunday saw a lot more breaks go Detroit’s way, with 2 runs scoring from wild pitches.  The Tigers also had runners in scoring position with less than 2 outs in 3 different innings, yet they couldn’t manage to get a clutch hit.  One thing that came from the weekend is the starting pitching looked great.  Yes, there will be different series where the starting pitching struggles to get 1 quality start, but so far this year Detroit is 2^nd in the AL in ERA (even after winning one game 13-12).  It was important to come out of the Windy City with at least 1 win, and that win sparked the team heading into the BBQ capitol of the world.

Before matching up with the Royals, I had a feeling the bats would come alive in the 3 game set.  This is mostly because the Indians scored 33 runs in the 3 games prior to the Tigers arriving.  I guess the terrible pitching resulted in the starters being very rested, but the bullpen was in shambles.  The Royals are built to score runs, their roster is loaded with young talent but the youth insurgence hasn’t made it to the pitching rotation yet.  Yes, they have a veteran 29 year old lefty, and a future star in the mix, but the other guys are average.  This series turned into 3 pitcher’s duels.  Verlander and Duffy battled each other with high 90’s fast balls, Smyly and Chen battled throwing some nasty breaking balls, and then Scherzer and Sanchez had a power/finesse duel.  You already know the outcome (and my feelings) about Verlander’s start.  Smyly and Scherzer followed with gems of their own.  The bats began getting some clutch hits in the last 2 games of the series, and hopefully this carries over to the 4 game set with Texas starting tonight.  Miggy started hitting again, and it seems like every time he gets on base Prince has a great at bat to follow.  Austin had his first rough series, but still had a couple of walks and some nice at bats that didn’t result in hits.  For some Detroit fans, the possible highlight of the trip to KC was Brandon Inge with his first home run for the big ball club this season (it ended up being the game winner on Monday night).

Out of the 12 games the Tigers have played this season, the starting pitching has 8 quality starts.  What is even more crazy is they would have had 10 if not for injuries (Fister was working on a shutout when he pulled a muscle in his side, and Wilk had given up 2 runs in 5 innings before he got blasted by a Fielder foul ball).  Going into this season most people had some questions about this pitching rotation, and then even more concerns came up from the Fister injury.  So far the pitching staff has looked very good overall.  This is not unusual for this early in the season with the cold weather, but it is still impressive for a team made for hitting.  The bullpen has been less than spectacular so far in the first 2 weeks though.  To nobody’s surprise, the worst of the bunch is Schlereth.  He should serve one purpose for this team… pitching batting practice before every game.  Valverde and Benoit have had their share of struggles as well.  I have confidence in the latter to get it turned around, which will make our bullpen one of our strengths.  If these guys can stay healthy, the postseason can look a lot more enjoyable than last year (Albequerque, Coke, Dotel, Benoit, and The Big Spud… if needed Balester and Below have looked pretty tough at times as well).  This was the big difference between us and the Rangers last season, but the Tigers have the look of a strong Fall baseball team right now. 

Moving forward, the Tigers come to the friendly confines of Comerica Park.  Except they welcome one of the best teams in the league.  In the last ESPN Power Rankings, Texas was number 1 and Detroit was number 2.  These teams are a combined 19-5 on the season, and they lead the AL in almost all categories (ERA: Tex #1, Det #2; BA: Tex #1, Det #2, Home runs: Tex #1, Det #4).  I don’t remember being this excited for an April series before.  This could definitely be a preview of postseason baseball.  After the Rangers come to the Motor City, Detroit welcomes the Mariners.  It should be a fun week of baseball for Tiger’s fans!

The Verlander Project

I think Justin Verlander is still pitching to the Royals… only 38 hours after he started.  When he finally recorded the last out of Monday’s game against Kansas City, he had thrown 131 pitches.  He finally got his first win of the season after his 3^rd quality start, but I am not sure of the costs it took to get it. 

While watching the game on Monday, I knew that the best pitcher in the game was again locked in and dominating the Royals.  After giving up a lame first inning run, he locked in and made the Royals look pretty stupid for most of their at bats.  Then in the bottom of the 8^th inning, he started getting hit pretty hard.  He was not fooling the hitters anymore, and it looked like they were actually getting comfortable against our ace.  I applauded when he finished the inning, expecting to see the Big Potato to close out the game.  I guess Leyland saw something different. 

With 102 pitches already, Verlander took the mound for the 9^th in his second straight outing.  At first I questioned this move immediately.  I didn’t understand the benefit of letting JV throw another pressure inning.  I know he struggled in his last outing in the 9^th, and maybe Marlbro Man wanted him to be able to finish this game.  But mid-April, in his third start, is not the time to push JV to the max.  Justin has had multiple complete games including 2 no-hitters, he knows how to close out a game.  He is mentally tough.  After he blew the game in his last start, he came back and shut down the Royals for 8 innings.  That is a good start.  There is no need to pull another inning out of him.  Yes he can handle it because he is a freak of nature and can carry a bigger workload than any other pitcher right now.  But I don’t get the mindset.  Monday was not the middle of a September division race, it was not a playoff game, it was not a no-hitter bid.  While JV will immediately tell you that he was barely tired at the end of the game, I don’t get the point of even pushing that limit.  I would rather have those last 29 pitches he threw in the 9^th in October.  Verlander doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone.  He is the best pitcher in baseball, period.  He has had bad luck to start the season, but it is not time to push the panic button and let him go the distance the rest of the season.  I understand that Verlander wanted to go back out there in the 9^th, and why wouldn’t he?  He is a competitor.  I would be worried if he didn’t want to get the complete game in the books.  But at some point the manager needs to see what is the best for the team (and the future of the team).  Verlander threw 261 innings last season, and his pitch count was 100+ more than the next closest starting pitcher.  The goal this season was to reduce his innings back down to 230-240, to hopefully keep him more fresh for the post season.  Well so far to start the year, this goal has been put on the back burner.  He is currently on pace to go over 300 innings.

Then on the other hand, I know Valverde is struggling to start this season.  But has Leyland already lost confidence in him? Valverde has really never been a lock down dominant closer.  49/49 saves last year had some luck involved, and they weren’t always pretty 1-2-3 innings. The numbers suggest that is the case, but as Detroit fans we should know better.  He will give us heart problems occasionally, he will make us angry at times, but the dude is getting paid a lot of money to finish games for this team.  The Royals had the bottom of the order coming up, they were not going to win this game.  I would trust a rested Valverde in that situation more than an overthrowing starter (even if that starter happens to be JV).  Pape Grande saved 13 of JV’s 24 wins last season, at some point Leyland is going to have to let him try again. 

The JV saga has been very interesting so far to start the season.  He has been locked in since opening day, and hasn’t let up through 3 starts.  If Valverde hadn’t blown the save on opening day, nobody would have thought twice about pulling JV after 8.  It was the first game of the season, his pitch count was getting high, and we had a closer that hadn’t blown a save in his last 51 chances.  Then against Tampa Bay, the pitch count was extremely low (81 after 8 innings).  Leyland did the right thing in letting him go out there and get the complete game win.  I disagree with letting him so long though, after 2 runners got on base I would have gone to Valverde just so Verlander wouldn’t have gotten the loss.  Then Monday night, I don’t understand the mindset at all.  I would have let Valverde do his job, but at least we got the win and the Tigers are still in first place.