I am excited to say my favorite MLB pitcher Mike Maroth will be making a rehad start in Triple A Toledo today (August 9th) and will throw about 5 innings.  Good luck to Mike and I hope to see him back in the rotation…possibly a 6 man rotation very soon!

Most Important 5 Players for the rest of the Season;

Sean Casey- The newly rented professional hitter needs to produce for the Tigers lineup.  His most important duties will be to get on base, produce runs, and to not strikeout, which the Tigers have done in an abundance this year.

Dimitri Young- A switch hitter who means alot to this lineup.  Since his return to the lineup he has been on fire. In 11 games Dimitri has 5 Home Runs, 11 RBI and is batting close to .400! Will he be able to keep this pace? No, but as long as he produces he will remain in the lineup and be a valuable part of this team.

Kenny Rogers- The man known for slumping in the second half of the season is doing it again and knows it.  In July he was 1-2 with a 9.28 ERA in 5 starts.  Some rumors have been swirling that he will be moved to the bullpen.  It is very important for Rogers to stay in the lineup and return to his first half of the year performance.

Todd Jones- No everybody not Todd Blowns, Todd Jones… He has turned it up a notch in the month of July and should keep up the pace.  My heart races everytime he steps on the mound in the 9th with a 1-run lead.  Just imagine in October any of the Yankee lineup against Jones in the 9th…scary, good luck to Jones for the rest of the season.

The Young Guns- This includes Verlander, Zumaya, Rodney, and Granderson.  They all are inexperienced players when it comes to being in the majors in high pressure games.  In late September we should start to see whether they can handle the pressure or crumble when the season is on the line.

72 Wins with over 50 games to go.  Althought I did believe the Tigers would have a decent season this year I still didn’t think they could pull of something like this.

Why Didn’t People Think the Tigers would Be One of the Best Teams in Baseball?

-Their young pitching won’t be anything special….I heard that Verlander and Zumaya have some talent but they are rookies..how good could they be?

-Kenny Rogers can’t pitch anymore…and how could he be a positive influence on the young pitching staff? He is a loose cannon

-Tigers are injury prone

-They have no bullpen

-Their starting rotation is shaky at best

-It will take Leyland a couple years to get back in a winning groove

Why The Tigers Are THE Best Team in Baseball

-Verlander, the first pitcher to 14 wins is having a CY Young caliber year and doesn’t look to be slowing down

-Best E.R.A., most wins, and most shutouts in all of baseball

-Someone goes down, Someone steps up.  Miner for Maroth, Thames for Monroe, and Shelton for Dimitri.

-Veteran Leadership is paving the way.  Kenny Rogers, Todd Jones, and Leyland are helping the rookies develop and perform. 

-Team Chemistry- although Leyland says chemistry means nothing and all he wants is talent, you can tell from the way they act on the field, in the dugout, and in the bullpen that this team wants to win for themselves, each other, and the fans and people of Detroit. 

"That’s Vertastic!" 

"Where’s Higginson Playing?"

"..at least Thome is on my fantasy team"

"Clevlan Rocks"