B1G Week 2: Recap

I am not sure that I want to do a 2^nd week recap for the B1G.  The one word I would use to describe this past weekend was terrible.  I don’t think a regular season week has been that discouraging in the history of B1G football.  To give you a perspective, the only day that I can think of that comes close is January 1^st, 2011 when the conference seemed to lose every bowl game it played in (most of them by 40 points it seemed).

My picks were not as accurate as in week 1 because I still had some conference bias in my week 2 choices, however some of my smaller details of each game were correct.   Instead of going game by game, I will just pick out some surprises from the weekend.

Good surprise:

This category is tough to determine after the 12 games.  Marqueise Gray looks like he can lead the Gophers to a bowl game this season.  It will be interesting to see how he fares against B1G defenses, but for now he is one of the conference’s most exciting players to watch.  To go along those line, sophomore Braxton Miller continues to impress.  Most people expected him to thrive in the Urban Meyer offense, but I don’t think many expected the improvement to happen so quickly.  Miller has put himself on the short list of B1G Offensive Player of the Year with back to back dominating efforts.  Someone else on the Buckeye offense will need to step up and shoulder some of the load, or else Ohio will be looking like the Michigan offense in 2010 when Denard was forced to leave each conference game with an injury. 

The Penn State defense is fun to watch.  You can see the passion and determination they each play with.  The offense will struggle to win games for the Nittany Lions, but the defense will likely keep the games closer than expected.  I am especially impressed with LB Mauti.  He flies to the ball and could lead the conference in tackles. 

Purdue and Northwestern impress against formidable opponents. From what I have seen in the first two weeks of the season, Purdue looks like the favorite to be going to Indianapolis, representing the Leaders Division in the conference championship game.  This is partly because this looks like the best team Danny Hope has had, but mostly because Ohio is ineligible and Wisconsin looks terrible.  Now that QB Robert Marve is out with his 3^rd ACL injury to his left knee, how will Caleb TerBush respond to having no QB competition?  Northwestern came back home after the exciting win over Syracuse and shut down Vanderbilt.  I did not expect the Wildcats to be able to slow down the Commodores. The defense responding very well from week 1.  It will be interesting to see what Coach Fitzgerald does with the QB competition in Evanston before B1G play starts up.  Suddenly these two games have become much scarier on the Michigan schedule.

Bad surprise:

Where do I start with this.  Well last week I ranked Nebraska as the best team in the conference in my mind, and they responded by forgetting their defense in Lincoln.  They traveled to the Rose Bowl to take on UCLA and gave up 650+ yards of offense.  They did not play Oregon or USC, but UCLA.  Yes, the Nebraska offense looked pretty scary in the first half, but the Bruins found a way to slow them down in the 2^nd.  The Husker run defense looked shaky in week 1 against Southern Miss, but it was exploited in week 2.  I am not sure which unit is the worst offender.  The Nebraska defensive line cannot create any penetration, the linebackers looks slow and out of position, and cornerbacks miss too many tackles.  There is a lot wrong with this unit, and in a running league they need to vastly improve if they want to be back in Pasadena on January 1^st.

I predicted the Wisconsin offense would bounce back against a bad Oregon St team, but I was very wrong.  The offense looked listless for a 2^nd straight week.  The offensive line looked confused for most of the game and it resulted in just 60 rush yards for Monte Ball.  I think we can say that Ball’s Heisman season can be kissed goodbye.  Wisconsin is missing any sort of playmaker on offense, outside of Ball.  This makes me respect Russell Wilson so much more for what he brought to this team.  O’Brien is a decent QB, but he struggles to create positive plays from nothing.  The Badgers promptly fired their offensive line coach after the game, which seems to me that there might be some panic in Madison right now.  The rest of Wisconsin’s non-conference schedule is not a given with Utah St and UTEP still to come.  In a good year in the conference, this Wisconsin team might struggle to make a bowl game if something doesn’t change soon.

I wrote that Northern Illinois all but shut down Iowa’s offense last week, but Iowa St did completely shut down the Hawkeyes on Saturday.  I keep thinking Vandenberg is going to turn things around and make enough plays to win ball games, but at this point it does not seem like it will happen this year.  To think that the running game is low on their worry list right now should tell you everything.  If Iowa doesn’t make a bowl game this year, does Ferentz get fired?

Finally, Illinois impressed me in their opening week win against Western Michigan, but they forgot their offense in Champaign when the rest of the team headed to Tempe, AZ.  Arizona St throttled the Illini on Saturday night.  Yes, Scheelhasse was hurt for the game, but I don’t think he can account for the 31 point loss.  The Orange and Blue might struggle to make a bowl game if the QB misses any time in conference play. 

I would say that my conference rankings are as follows:

1.       Michigan St (Up 2)

2.       Ohio St (No change)

3.       Michigan (up 1)

4.       Purdue (up 2)

5.       Northwestern (up 3)

6.       Nebraska (down 5)

7.       Wisconsin (down 2)

8.       Minnesota (up 3)

9.       Illinois (down 2)

10.   Penn St (no change)

11.   Iowa (down 2)

12.   Indiana (no change)

Week 2: Air Force Recap

There was a collective sigh of relief echoing around Ann Arbor at 3:40 on Saturday afternoon after the Michigan football team escaped with a 31-25 win over Air Force.  As much as us fans would like to know exactly how good this football team is or can be, we will have to wait at least another 2 weeks for a better idea.  As I detailed in the preview last week, Air Force runs a triple option offense.  This system is extremely difficult to prepare for in only a week.  The Air Force coach recently added a wrinkle of running the option at a high tempo pace.  I expected Air Force to finish with 300 yards rushing, so I am not too surprised this afternoon as I am writing this.

It was good to see Denard get back on track and put up some huge numbers.  Yes, the Falcon defense is not very good, but I am glad the playcalling went back to its strengths.  Denard made his usual amazing cuts and out ran everyone to the endzone on 2 long runs.  I would imagine the difference in defensive speed between Alabama and Air Force helped Denard feel more confident.  Looking forward, I would not expect to see that many designed quarterback runs for the rest of the season.  I was also impressed with Denard's passing technique and decision making.  I definitely think he has improved as a passer, but it will likely take most of the season to really determine how much. 

Fitz was back from suspension, which I assumed would mean the running game would be one of the nation's bests.  I dont know if Fitz was still rusty and missed some holes or if the offensive line just forgot to run block when Denard handed the ball off.  To me, it looked like Fitz had nowhere to go on most of his 8 runs.  This leaves me concerned for the offensive line.  I predicted that this unit would be one of the best in the conference this season, but so far they have been very underwhelming.  Look for Fitz to get more involved in the offense this week when Michigan plays UMass in a glorified scrimmage. 

Devin Funchess was fun to watch.  He likely is Michigan's most highly touted recruits at the position in over 10 years.  He hauled in 4 catches for over 100 yards in his Big House debut.  Part of his success was due to Air Force not being able to matchup with his 6'5" frame, but pass catching has been his strength.  I am very excited to see how he is used in the offense throughout the rest of the season.  Having such a tall weapon can be really beneficial against the blitz happy MSU defense.

The defense left little to be desired from Saturday's matchup.  I think there are a lot of individuals in the front 7 that will continue to improve with more game experience, but will that translate into the defense as a unit improving?  The defensive line struggled to hold their blocks which resulted in the offensive line getting to the 2nd level too many times for a second week.  I think we will continue to see Ondre Pipkens play more and more as the season progresses.  I was happy to see Frank Clark back.  I think he adds some impressive speed to the outside pass rush, and the combination of Clark, Ryan, Ross, and Beyer could give opposing quarterbacks problems. I was less than enthused by watching the Demens-Morgan linebacking unit.  Apparently Hoke had seen enough as well, since Ross and Bolden played most of the 2nd half.  While James Ross and Joe Bolden are both freshmen, I like the speed and instincts these two players bring to the field.  Yes, they made their share of freshman mistakes, but both guys are head and shoulders more athletic than the starting duo.  I would not be surprised to see Morgan on the bench with James Ross taking his place. 

The secondary was not tested too much in the passing game, but when they were they seemed to struggle with the play action passes.  Connor Dietz had little trouble completed throws to open receivers.  Jordan Kovacs had a very good game like usual, and seemed to be around the football on every play. 

Overall it was good for this team to get their first victory of the season, but there is definite room for improvement.  The offensive line needs to continue to improve with run blocking.  As good as Denard and Fitz can be, if there arent any holes to run through this offense will really struggle in B1G play.  Defensively I still have no idea how good this team is.  It looks pretty obvious that they are not as good as 2011, but they will likely improve a lot as the season goes on and become a very respectable unit.  Look for the Michigan unit to have a dominating effort against a very bad UMass team.  Next Monday's recap will be disappointing if the Minutemen score a touchdown.  It will be a good opportunity to give the freshman more playing time and see if Demens-Morgan should be the starting linebackers on this defense.  Next week is just a tuneup before the showdown in South Bend on September 22nd, but a tuneup is exactly what this team needs after what I have seen in the first two weeks of the season.

NFL Week 1: Detroit vs St. Louis Preview

The Detroit Lions kick of the 2012 campaign with a game against the Rams.  St. Louis is in a rebuild mode currently, but still has some weapons on offense that could scare some teams.  Detroit will be breaking in 4 new starters in the secondary, and likely will be leaning on a strong pass rush to account for any defensive stops.  St. Louis is also breaking in some new members of their secondary that will be tested over and over again by Stafford and company.  I am not sure how much the Lions did in the offseason to improve for this year, but I guess it is time to stop talking about it and just find out.

St. Louis Run Offense vs Detroit Run Defense
Detroit has built its defense to rush the passer.  The defensive line has a lot of athletic monsters in the rotation that are very good at getting upfield to the quarterback. This gets offset when they tend to overpursue and the running game can really hurt them.  Last year the Lions really struggled to stop the run on a consistent basis, which made it harder to defend pass.  I think the defensive front has improved in slowing the run down, which should help the linebackers out.  Even if Detroit improves a lot, Sunday will be a challenge to stop Steven Jackson.  I have a feeling the Lions defense will continue to struggle this year, so the advantage will be with the Rams.

St. Louis Pass Offense vs Detroit Pass Defense
This comes down to how much pressure can the front 4 get on Sam Bradford.  The Lion's back 7 were terrible in coverage last year, and I doubt much has changed.  Teams used the intermediate passing attack to shred through the Lions defense last year, and by using this strategy it allows the QB to get rid of the ball before a rush can get there.  I don't know why teams still wouldnt do this to try to offset the defensive line.  The Lions only hope in pass coverage is being aggressive to try and force a few turnovers.  Of course by being more aggressive, the Rams will likely have 2-3 plays over 20 yards on the game.  Advantage St. Louis.

Detroit Run Offense vs St. Louis Run Defense
The Lions haven't had a running game in quite some time, and I dont think there is any reason that will change this year.  Yes, Leshore is supposed to help in the running back department, but the offensive line is so bad at run blocking that it doesn't matter if Arian Foster was in our backfield.  The Detroit run offense has turned into some short passes to running backs or reverses to the receivers.  The Ram defense is not one of the best in the league, but they still should have little trouble stopping the run attack from Detroit.  Advantage St. Louis.

Detroit Pass Offense vs St. Louis Pass Defense
So far during this preview it looks like St. Louis is going to pull off the upset at Ford Field on Sunday, but we are saving the biggest advantage gap for last. The Detroit passing attack is one of the best in the entire league.  Matthew Stafford is primed to turn into the most recent star and Calvin already is the best receiver on the planet.  The Lions have so many weapons in the area of the game that most teams cannot even begin to slow them down.  The only hope St. Louis has is to get pressure on Stafford and hit him or to force some interceptions.  If Stafford is allowed to stay in the pocket and not feel pressure he will put up huge numbers. Advantage Detroit.

I am not going to do special teams because in the NFL there are not many teams that have big advantages in this area, especially with the new kickoff rules. 

Almost every "expert" is picking the Lions to win this game, and while I think they will start the season 1-0, the game will likely be closer than many expect.  The line is 9 points, which is one of the biggest of the opening weekend.  The Lions could cover that, but they are going to need a lot of offense to do so.  I think the Stafford-Johnson connection is in full effect from the beginning and both players have a big game.  I doubt either team will be able to stop the other, so this is looking to be an exciting shootout.  Good thing the Lions have so many offensive playmakers.  I think Detroit wins 38-28.

Week 2: Michigan vs Air Force Preview

Thankfully the season goes on and we get to watch at least 11 more Michigan football games. I can all but guarantee that not a single one of them will look like what we had to witness last Saturday.  Michigan opens the Big House for the first time during the 2012 season.  Even with the chance of a cool rain, I would guess that the 112,000+ crowd will be electric in welcoming the gridiron warriors home.  This week the Wolverines take on Air Force.  I think it is a cool honor to host a military service school, and I hope the fans show the same respect during the game.  Yes, I want Michigan to win by a landslide, but we need to remember that the kids on the other side of the field are serving our country. 

Air Force Run Offense vs Michigan Run Defense
Well last week the Michigan defense looked terrible.  On most plays it was difficult to see which position group was the worst offenders.  The defensive line gone pushed back to the 2nd or 3rd level repeatedly, and the LB crew was constantly in the wrong position.  Yes, Alabama has the best offensive line that college football has seen in some time, but there was also but very bad technique from the boys in blue. I am hoping that we will get a better understanding of what we have on defense in our next few game, but Air Force runs an option attack which most teams struggle defending.  While it will be good practice for our front seven, most fans will probably be disappointed with the amount of rush yards the Falcons finish with.  Even though the Air Force front line is completely undersized and overmatched on paper, they execute their plays to perfection.  The zone blocking (and cut blocks) scheme gets enough push that the QB is able to pick which "option" to choose for the run.  One major key to stopping this type of an offense is to have a dominant nose tackle, or a solid group of DT's.  The interior of the defensive line might have been the worst position group after Alabama.  Was it that they were going against the best lineman in the country all game?  Possibly. It also could be that our DT's are going to be a weak spot all season, and freshman Ondre Pipkens could emerge as a starter by midseason.  Even though our defensive front outweighs the Falcon offensive line, I still think Air Force will surpass 250 yards on the ground.  If last week was more a result from bad defense, this number could swell to 350+ yards. Advantage Air Force.

Air Force Pass Offense vs Michigan Pass Defense
As I just explained Air Force runs a rush first offense.  The Falcons will hand the ball off around 75% of the time.  They have no reason to pass the ball if the defense is giving up 4+ yards per carry. If the Michigan front seven can manage to force some 3rd and long type situations, the secondary might see some playaction throws, but for the most part the defensive backfield will be in full run support mode most afternoon.  This could be good for Courteney Avery to get used to the starting cornerback role, or it could mean they fall asleep and give up a big play or two.  Even with Blake Countess out for this game, the Michigan back 4 have a large advantage in athleticism and technique.  If Air Force needs to pass the ball more than 12 times it is a very good day for Big Blue. Advantage Michigan.

Michigan Run Offense vs Air Force Run Defense
Now we get to the fun part.  After watching 60 minutes of Michigan struggling to get back to the line of scrimmage, the Wolverines should have no problem moving the ball and scoring points through the air or on the ground.  Michigan welcomes star running back Fitz Toussiant back to the lineup where he offers a more dynamic option for the offense to turn to.  I think the running game will have a big day tomorrow.  Look for Fitz to eclipse 100 yards and Denard to likely be close.  It could be one of those games to get Rawls some more snaps just for experience.  The Michigan offensive line should look a lot better against an undersized defensive line, and Lewan and Schofield should look like the Alabama line last weekend.  Worry if the Wolverines are not over 200 yards on the ground.  Advantage Michigan.

Michigan Pass Offense vs Air Force Pass Defense
Denard had a rough game last weekend, but when looking at a lot of the offensive plays again he actually performed a lot better than he did last year against MSU or VT.  He was a lot more accurate with most of his throws and was the victim of some really good cornerback play.  I think the Michigan receivers will be able to get more separation from the Air Force secondary, and Denard should have a field day in the passing game.  I dont know how much Hoke and company will open up the playbook since running the ball should work just fine to move the sticks, but Denard can help the fans forget last weekend even if he just throws the ball as good as last week.  Folks, his technique has improved a lot and he could be a threat in the passing game this season if our receivers can continue to improve.  One area that Denard always has struggled in is scrambling when a passing play just isnt there.  It would be very encouraging to see him tuck the ball once or twice tomorrow and make a positive play out of noting.  Yes, he could throw the ball up to Devin and 30% of the time he comes down with it, or he can just take off and get 4-5 yards at minimum.  If he turns into a scrambling QB, this offense's ceiling shoots up. Advantage Michigan.

Michigan Special Teams vs Air Force Special Teams
I was very impressed with this area last weekend from Michigan, and I have to be honest I do not know much about the Falcon's kicking game.  I would venture a guess, though, and say if Michigan repeats its performance it will have the advantage in most games this year.  It will be interesting to see Hagerup does with some wet and windy conditions.  I also think that Dennis Norfleet will break at least one return past the 50.  People this kid is a true freshman, so we get to see 4 more years of a good return game.  Advantage Michigan.

The spread for this game is 21 points which seems high to me.  I don't think Air Force will be held under 10 points in this game, and our defense will likely look pretty bad from the stats.  I do think that the defensive line and linebackers are not as bad as they looked in Dallas, and they bounce back a little tomorrow.  Air Force will still manage to score points, but they have nobody to slow down Michigan's offense.  It will be interesting to see how much Hoke wants to run up the score, because the Wolverines shouldnt need to punt more than twice.  I think a lot of egos are hurt and the coaches will use the next two weeks to get some confidence back to the team, so Michigan scores and scores often in a 45-21 win.

B1G Week 2 Predictions

This week around the league sees more teams leave the comforts of the home stadium and go on the road.  7 of the 12 teams play road games on Saturday which might be the most in any week of recent years.

New Hampshire @ Minnesota Saturday 12:00pm
Minnesota looked shaky against a poor UNLV team last week, but I doubt they will have the same problem against an FCS team this week.  Look for Marqueise Gray to have a big afternoon in front of the home crowd.

UCF @ Ohio St Saturday 12:00pm
This game was covered in the "Upset Alert" entry this week, but to expand upon what I already wrote, Ohio will likely struggle early in this game.  This is one of those scheduling head scratchers.  The Knights are an above average football team, but nobody has heard of or respects them. The public expects OSU to dominate this game, but in reality it should be a close score.  I think Braxton Miller and the Bucknut defense makes just enough plays in the 2nd half to pull away.

Penn St @ Virginia Saturday 12:00pm
Some how this game is on ABC, but I doubt many people will watch it.  Penn St just does not have the athletes or the depth to be competitive over a 60 minute game.  The Lions might start quickly and keep the game close in the first half, but I just can't see them scoring more than 17 points in most games this year.

Purdue @ Notre Dame Saturday 3:30pm
This is Purdue's first test to show that they really are a threat in the Leader's Division this season.  This could be a trap game for the Irish.  After coming back from Ireland and right before they head to East Lansing, I wouldn't be surprised to see ND start slowly.  The question will be, can Purdue capitalize early on any ND mistake.  I think they can, and I think this will be one of the most exciting games of the week.

Indiana @ Massachusetts Saturday 3:30pm
I guess you can watch this if you want a look into our next opponent.  UMass is not good this year, and Indiana should crusie to their 2nd win (and possibly last) win of the season.

MSU @ Central Michigan Saturday 3:30pm
This is not your 2007 Central Michigan team.  The Chips are terrible this year and will likely struggle to hold MSU under 60. 

Iowa St @ Iowa Saturday 3:30pm
Iowa looked terrible in the first game of the season, and for some reason they always seem to struggle with the Cyclones.  I think that continues this year, but James Vandenberg makes enough throws to pull out a close, low scoring, win.

Wisconsin @ Oregon St Saturday 4:00pm
Wisonsin leaves Camp Randall in September for the first time I can remember.  The Badgers looked like they lost some of their firepower on offense.  It was either that or they just played a bad game.  I think ole Bucky bounces back this week and throttles OSU on their home field.

Nebraska @ UCLA Saturday 7:30pm
This is most people's upset pick of the week.  I am not sure why people think UCLA has improved so much from last season.  The Nebraska defense looked pretty average in their first contest, so I wouldnt be surprised to see this game be high scoring.  I know it is a small sample size, but it looks like Martinez is on a mission this year. 

Vanderbilt @ Northwestern Saturday 8:00pm
This game should be pretty good Saturday night.  The Wildcats just got done winning a shootout, and Vandy lost a gut wrenching slugfest.  I think Vandy's defense is too good to allow NW to score 42 again, and I dont know if the Wildcat defense is good enough to stop the younger Rodgers.  The Commodores will likely win this game.

Illinois @ Arizona St Saturday 10:30pm
Finally the late game.  Illinois is coming off an impressive win against Western in week 1, but I don't know how well they will travel across the country for this football game.  It will be interesting to see how much Beckman's system has been incorporated against a Pac12 defense.  Arizona St should have a bounce back year from last with their own new coach.  I have a feeling scoring 40 might not be enough in this game.

Week 2 Upset Alert

There weren't any major upsets in the first week of the season, but some of the teams on "Upset Alert" did have their hands full.  Week 2 could present an actual upset or two, but should definitely have more close games.  Again, I will go from start time (not in the order I think an upset will happen).

UCF @ Ohio St Saturday 12:00pm
UCF is now in Conference USA and will likely be one of the best teams in the conference this season.  We will not see them in a bowl game (just like OSU) because of NCAA sanctions.  This is likely their biggest stage of the season.  Ohio St just got done rolling a bad MAC team.  They looked shaky on offense at times, but then found a groove later in the game.  I think the Bucknuts will start slowly again, and Braxton Miller will be throwing some wounded ducks around the 'Shoe.  I actually wouldnt be surprised if UCF had the lead going into halftime. The difference will be the 2nd half, where both of Ohio's lines will start to wear down an overmatched Knights team. 

Miami @ Kansas St Saturday 12:00pm
Miami looked pretty talented in their opener against Boston College, and KSU greatly over achieved last season.  I think this one could be a high scoring affair, but the Canes have more talent in the skill positions and could beat the Wildcats.  The only problem is Miami will not have an answer for QB Klein in this one.

Purdue @ Notre Dame Saturday 3:30pm
Purdue hasnt won in this series since 2007, but I think they have their best chance to this week.  Notre Dame might be a little off from their trip to Ireland last week, and they also could be looking forward to next weekend in East Lansing. I think the Boilermakers will at least give the Irish a game in the first half, and if they can generate some pash rush against Gholston this could be quite the game.  This game will show if the Boilers have potential to push Wisconsin in the Leaders division.

Washington @ LSU Saturday 7:00pm
I don't think the Huskies will win this game, but I do think they can be the third best team in the Pac12 this year.  Playing for third behind USC and Oregon isn't a bad year.  I like what Skarsian has done in the recruiting world over the past 3 years, and this could be the year that the talent sees the field.  I don't think LSU is on the same level as Alabama this year, but playing a Saturday night game in Tiger Stadium is no easy task.  I think LSU overpowers Washington in the 2nd half, but for some reason I think the final will be closer than expected.

Nebraska @ UCLA Saturday 7:30pm
The Big Red's offense looked unstoppable in week 1, but their defense left little to be desired.  I don't think UCLA is as talented as the Huskers, but I think this game will be pretty high scoring.  I don't see Taylor Martinez losing on his homecoming though. 

Georgia @ Missouri Saturday 7:45pm
Georgia has the better team, and it really isnt close.  However, this is the first SEC game ever at Missouri so the fans should make the game loud for the Dawgs.  I have a feeling Murray will pick the Tiger secondary apart for most of the night, but the first quarter (or even half) could be pretty fun to watch.

I don't know why I feel this, but I think Purdue has the best chance of pulling the upset over the Irish this weekned.  With the short practice week with the travel and a top 10 team coming up next week, I don't see Notre Dame being very focused in this one.  I think Ricardo Allen and Caleb TerBush make enough plays for the Boilers to get the close win.

Detroit Tigers Update

I figured it was time for another Tigers update.  I realized that analyzing every game or even every series gets really frustrating with this team, so giving an update every few weeks is better for my fandom.

When I left you last time the Motown Mashers were 2.5 games behind the Dirty Sox.  They have improved upon that over the last 3 weeks, and now are sitting just 1 game back.  When you think about that it is encouraging, but when you dive into the last 9 games it quickly becomes confusing and frustrating. 

I have come to realize that last year’s team was just really fun to root for.  So many players were having incredible years, the bullpen was not blowing leads every other night, and the Tigers ran away with the AL Central Division crown.  This year is not last.  There are just some of the players that are hard to root for, the bullpen enjoys giving up that extra run, and the Dirty Sox keep winning. 

The Tigers managed to piss off the fan base, win them back over, and abruptly push them all away again in just 9 games.  It was an amazing feat, but the good thing is we are still in striking distance of Chicago.  Detroit traveled to Kansas City and left their bats at home.  They were swept by the horrid Royals, and managed to score just 1 run in the last 18 innings of the series.  Then they came home to face the White Sox and put together 3 great pitching performances and scored just enough to win all 3 games.  Just so us Michiganders weren’t too excited, the team turned around and lost 2 of 3 against a Cleveland team that came into Detroit 6-29 in their last 35 games. What just happened?

I don’t want to break down each game because they are in the past, and I don’t feel like getting angry this early in the morning.  The starting pitching has been incredible for really the second half of the season.  Max Scherzer has won his last 5 starts with close to a 1.00 era and has lowered his overall era to just under 4.00.  People, if he closes the season with 5 or 6 more good starts, he could be in the Cy Young discussion.  Sanchez has turned things around and has 3 straight quality starts with the team, unfortunately he only has one win in those starts.  He is throwing a ton of strikes and working in all of his pitches.  Porcello might be having his best stretch of his career right now, but he keeps getting left with the loss.  In Rick’s last 3 starts he has only gotten 5 runs of support from the team.  Doug Fister is starting to get healthy again from a sore groin to look like 2011 Doug Fister.  Even though his velocity is down 3-4 mph, he is still getting the ball down and getting a lot of easy ground balls.  Then there is Verlander.  He definitely has had more poor starts this season than last, but that was to be expected. His last start was a completely dominating effort against Chicago on Sunday night baseball.  If the starters can keep this going for the remaining 26 games I would be very surprised if the Tigers don’t win the division. 

The offense has been a little shaky for most of the season, and it has continued in the last 3 weeks.  The bottom 5 hitters continue to be on a season long roller coaster from good to bad.  There is only so much that the top of the lineup can do to carry a team.  Austin Jackson is having a career year at the plate.  Andy Dirks is looking like the perfect 2 hitter in this offense.  Miguel is having another incredible MVP type year, and Prince Fielder is doing his thing.  Currently Delmon Young might be the hottest hitter in the entire AL.  The rest of the lineup has been struggling with any sort of consistency.  This team is built to score runs, but I have been really disappointed with their strategy at the plate in a lot of games this season.  It seems like the most average opposing pitchers shut down this offense too much.  If they can find a way to focus and score 5.5 runs a game for the rest of the season, we should see the Tigers in the playoffs for a 2^nd straight year. 

Detroit now goes on a 10 game road trip where they will face the Angels, White Sox (for the last time), and the Indians.  A winning record over this trip will be very important. 

On a side note, keep cheering for Miguel to launch some home runs.  He is currently 3 behind the AL leaders with 35 bleacher bombs.  He is leading the AL in RBI and average right now and could be the first triple crown winner since 1967.  He would have to win the MVP if he did this… right?