The Tigers Through the 40 Game Mark

Sparky Anderson seems to get credit for it around here, maybe because he had a team go 35-5 through 40 games, but the 40 game mark is where MLB Managers say they can tell you about their team. By the 40 game mark a fan, a coach, a team should all know what they got.

Going into the season I thought the Tigers would be in trouble. This was because of 2 major problems.

1. Starting Pitching
2. Bottom 4 Hitters

Both have been great. The Starting Pitching has been as good or better than any team in the MLB. The bottom 4 led by Brandon Inge and the SS combo of Santiago/Everett has also played well above expectations.

Through 40 game the Tigers sit at 24-16, 8 games above .500, the only team in the Central Division with a winning record. 4.5 games ahead of the second place Royals.

Even better their is a multitude of positives.

- Joel Zumaya looks to have his arm from a couple years ago, and has walked 1 batter all year
- Fernando Rodney is yet to blow a save
- Justin Verlander is the hottest pitcher in the AL not named Greinke
- Edwin Jackson has a stud arm, can go deep into games
- Brandon Inge's off-season adjustments have proven to be amazing
- There actually is a chance that Dontrelle and Bondo will contribute
- Perry and Porcello both actually look to belong in the Majors
- The Central Division has proven to be weak, and the White Sox lost out on SP Peavy
- Granderson and Cabrera are studs, Cabrera MVP Caliber
- Zach Miner has done a ton to help this team
- The players who have been called up have been awesome
- After a slow start the defense has picked up
- The Tigers actually have some speed

Even with all that, there still are some question marks

- Armando Galarraga, what is he? Lately terrible
- Will Dontrelle continue to Win games, or be back in Toledo?
- How many games will Leyland allow Brandon Lyon to lose?
- Maggs and Guillen look old and slow, not hitting either, will they return to form?
- Will the division leader stay near .500?
- Our Catchers are hitting under .200, will they get to a reasonable .240?
- Can Big Marcus Thames contribute, DH versus LHP?


The Tigers have put themselves into tremendous shape. They are miles ahead of the other teams in the Central. There still is a lot to prove even with what we have done so far. We need to show that we can beat the best teams in the AL, the Boston, NYY, LAA, Tampa Bays and Torontos of the world.

The Tigers were able to pretty much avoid the cold weather this year which I believe is an underrated part of our start. The past two seasons the Tigers have started very poorly, and have played terrible when the temperature was below 50 degrees. This season we played in a grand total of 2 cold weather baseball games, and those were two of our worst games of the season. I know we live in Michigan, but I believe the 40 degree days are behind us.

Some Tigers grades through 40

Verlander: B+, A+ as of late
Edwin Jackson: A-, an absolute steal for Matt Joyce
Rick Porcello: B, if he keeps this up it will be an A+ considering he is 20
Armando Galarraga: C, great start, terrible lately.
Dontrelle Willis: N/A, last game was best game of Tigers season in my books

Brandon Lyon: D, terrible. I feel uncomfortable every time he is on the mound.
Ryan Perry: B, too many walks. His 2-seamer is almost unhittable.
Bobby Seay: B, I know he has been bad as of late. But for a month he was A+.
Fernando Rodney: A+, I know he has given up runs at times, but he is 8/8.

Granderson: A-, average low, every other part of game amazing
Polanco: C, still good, needs to get average above .300
Magglio: D+, I feel his hitting coming. June will be good month for Ordonez
Cabrera: A++, MVP candidate. Big hits, tremendous average, good power numbers.
Guillen: F, Cannot find a spot for him in the field, and wasn't hitting before DL stint.
Inge: A-, been the biggest shocker for me on team, Great D and power hitting.
Laird: B+, I know he hasn't been hitting, but Catchers get credit for Pitching too.
Santiago/Everett: A++, after first week being bad for AE, rest has been near perfect for combo.
Anderson/Thomas/Raburn: A, can't expect anymore from young gun OF.

It's amazing how much this team has proved they are not what people thought before the season. Comerica Park is going to have a lot of people there come summer time. The Wings are almost done, and then the FIRST PLACE TIGERS will be the only show in town.

Setting up a great summer in the D, and a playoff run again.

GO TIGERS!!!

What a Series

Come in facing off against a Rangers team that had won 7 straight.

3 days in a row, 3 dominating Starting Pitching performances.

Clutch plays on defense i.e. the double play to end the game to save it for Rodney

Clutch hits i.e. Granderson's HR, or Cabrera's 2 out single to get the lead back for the Tigs.

This team is playing hell of good ball right now, and we are going into a series now versus a National League team that is really down on themselves right now.

best things from the Rangers series

5. 3 straight against #2 team on BL's Power Rankings

4. Granderson and Inge displaying their power some more

3. Wilkin Ramirez adding to the list of Mudhens that have contributed.

2. Justin Verlander showing he is an ace, maybe even a top end Ace.

1. DONTRELLE M_______ F_________ Willis!!!!!!!!!!

This Team Might Just Be.....

Pretty Damn Good

That's right. I am going back on my prediction already. Sorry guys, I am not one to FLIP FLOP. But I am one to admit when I was wrong, and at this point I think I was wrong.

Too much pitching right now for the Tigers not to be good.

Verlander goes out again and dominates. His 8 Ks from today seems like nothing, that's a heck of a total.

Cabrera is still hitting at a ridiculous pace, and the offense is producing with a bunch of Mudhens in the lineup.

5 in a row.

Damn great day to be a Tigers' fan.

Tigers 5 Rangers 3

*thats 10 losses in a row for the Rangers at Comerica Park.

That a Boy Dontrelle!!!!!

What a day for the Tigers.

What an even better day for Dontrelle Willis.

The hottest team in baseball comes to town, and 5 pitchers combine to 1 Hit them. Wow.

Dontrelle Willis gets his first W as a Detroit Tiger.

6 and 1/3 inning pitched for Dontrelle only giving up 1 hit, and 2 BB. ZERO Runs against.

Please take this into your next start. Lets GO TIGERS!!!.

TIGERS 4 RANGERS 0

AL Power Rankings

1. Toronto Blue Jays (26-14)
Halladay now has 8 wins, thats pretty sick at this point in the year. They have a run differential of +59 (2nd place is +31 DET) 28 runs better than the next best team in the AL. The talk was about the Rays, Yanks, and Sox, but may turn into the Jays.

2. Texas Rangers (23-14)
The Rangers have won 7 straight, taking them up from 6 to 2 in the BL Sports Power Rankings. Everyone knows about the Rangers powerhouse lineup, but in their 7 game winning streak it has been the arms. The Rangers pitchers have allowed 3 runs or less in 5 of the 7 games in their win streak.

3. New York Yankees (20-17)
The Yankees are starting to roll. A-rod is back and the offense is getting going. Jonny Damon is hitting like crazy, and with power. XBH in 10 of 11 games. When/if the pitching gets going watch out. Current team ERA of 5.30 is 12th in the AL.

4. Boston Red Sox (22 -16)
The Red Sox are currently treading water, and benched David Ortiz this week. Jason Bay is on a tear with 11 Homers and 40 RBIs, but the Sox pitching is giving up 5 runs a game. Not good enough to make the playoffs that much is for sure.

5. Detroit Tigers (20-16)
The Tigers were swept by the Twins losing two heartbreaking games, and then swept the A's over the weekend. The pitching has been great, but Galarraga has the Tigers nervous. The bats have been hot all over the lineup but the likes of Magglio, Guillen, and Laird all need to get going.







6. Tampa Bay Rays (19-20) Riding the insane bat of MVP candidate E Longoria
7. Kansas City Royals (20-18) Had a rough week, but still have the unhittable Greinke
8. LA Angels (18-18) Got swept by divisional foe Texas, Lackey threw 2 pitches in 1st start
9. Seattle (18-20) Another victim of the Rangers, swept early in the week by them
10. Minnesota Twins (18-20) Not getting people out, not scoring runs. Still near .500
11. Baltimore Orioles (16-22) Adam Jones and Markakis form one of the best AL OF Pairings
12. Oakland A's (13-21) Looked like a minor league team over the weekend vs DET
13. Chicago White Sox (15-21) Worst hitting team in AL. Not like the normal Sox
14. Cleveland Indians (14-25) Looks like they really are the worst team in AL

We Won.....but we might just have a problem

Armando Galarraga for whatever reason, has been absolutely awful in his last 4 starts, and that is not good considering I thought he was going to be good for 15 wins. Teams are pounding him, knocking him all around Comerica Park.

Today he didn't make it an inning. 2 outs, 5 runs, 4 hits and 3 walks later he was on the bench. Thank goodness for some offense and some great bullpen work, Zach Miner was a stud today.

The Tigers fell behind 6-0 and it looked very bad.

In the 3rd inning though with 2 outs the Tigers rallied for 4 runs behind triples by Josh Anderson and Ramon Santiago. Two innings later Santiago would hit a 3-run job giving the Tigers their first lead.

From that point on the Tigers would control the game versus the struggling A's team. CG would add his 10th HR of the season, and the bullpen would shut down Oakland.

Tigers prevail, and sweep the weekend series 3 games to none.

Tigers 11 A's 7

Porcello, Stay Put

For weeks now, there have been rumors of a Willis or a Bonderman, or even both coming up to the Tigers. The talk was that Porcello would most likely be heading to AAA. At this point, that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. He has come out and gave the Tigers a chance to win almost every time out.

Porcello's combination of fastball, curveball, sinker, and slider is the stuff that great starters are made of. Most young pitchers come up and try and throw their fastball past MLB hitters and it just does not work, this Tigers' rookie is a step ahead.

Porcello gave the Tigers 6 more good innings Saturday (1 ER 5 Ks). The offense did the rest. Cabrera once again raked, 4 RBIs worth. Ryan Raburn has been reading BL Sports and is quite pissed, so he decided to hit a 3-run HR the day after hitting a GS in the first inning.

Tigers 9 A's 1