A Tale of Two Horses

With the basketball and hockey season coming to a close the sports world turns it's attention to the diamond. The Detroit Tigers currently are out in front by 3 games over the Twins in the Central Division. The Twins have one of the best managers in Ron Gardenhire who can play small ball with the best of them and always seems to be able to get his team to make a late push at the end of the season.

The Tigers are 6-4 in their last 10 games which isn't that great until you look at the other teams in the division who have played at or below .500 in their last 10. For the Tigers to continue to stay on top they will have to improve in both their offensive production and relief pitching/Willis.



The changes that Dave Dombrowski made in the off season seem to be working well up until this point of the season. Edwin Jackson, acquired in via trade, may be the best off season move by any team. He currently has a 6-3 record with an ERA of 2.24 (5th best in the Majors). Then you have the additions of SS Adam Everett and C Gerald Laird who have brought their experience and good defensive play with them. Add in the speedster that is Josh Anderson and the Tigers have a whole new dimension to their team when he is on base or in the outfield.

Then you have the main man Justin Verlander who is taking the mound tonight. Verlander looks to have finally made the next step in his career after a few rough outings to start the season. He was the pitcher of the month for the AL in April and currently has a 7-2 record with an ERA of 3.02 (18th best in the Majors), which has been inflated because of the few bad starts. Verlander is making a run for the Cy Young along with Zach Grienke of the Royals and Roy Halladay.


There is also the Magglio Ordonez situation. If the Tigers play him X number of games this year they will also be on the hook for 17 million next year. To put it mildly Ordonez is not putting up numbers worth 17 million. There has been rumors of a release and them going after Adam Dunn, which I think would be a great move. I really like Ordonez but this is a business and the smart move to do, with how much attendance has fallen and the current economic conditions, would be to let him go unless he really turns it up in the coming weeks.

The Tigers will need to keep getting brilliant performances from both Jackson and Verlander to stay on top. Mix in the good outings by Rick Porcello and they have a great 1-2-3 combo along with the 4th best fielding percentage in the league at .989, and the Tigers should still be there at the end to battle with the Twins.

And because I haven't put up any funny videos lately here is a recap of some of the better ones over the past week.