I'll start with the bullpen. Detroit leads the AL in bullpen era, (2.17), while the Minnesota Twins hold the next best mark at 2.86. Tiger's closer Jose Valverde has allowed only one run in 15 2/3 innings. On Monday, he became the fifth pitcher since 1969 to protect a one-run lead against the Yankees in the ninth inning by striking out the side. I thought that was a really cool stat. In the off season, Detroit picked up some new names such as... Phil Coke, in his last game, he threw 96! Brad Thomas, who has been invaluable because of the spot starts he has had to make. He performed fairly well in those also. Jose Valverde, The Big Potato, Papa Grande, what else can you say about this guy other than, WOW! He leads the AL in saves, and, as I stated earlier, never gives up runs. Those three off season pick ups are really paying dividends now.
To the rookies. I was always aware of the fact that Detroit had good pitchers in its farm system. Now, the hitters are coming up. At the start of the year, Austin Jackson and Scott Sizemore were the big stories in Detroit. Jackson replaced Curtis Granderson splendidly, and Scott Sizemore did fine, until a week ago. The game just got a little fast. Last night in Oakland, the Tiger's starting lineup contained 4 rookies. Even with Sizemore in AAA. Austin Jackson, I mentioned, Casper Wells, he had 2 RBI's in the game, Brennan Boesch, I don't think anything else can be said about this guy(!), and Danny Worth, he's only going to be here until Carlos Guillen returns from his injury, but he seems like a very good hitter. All of those rookies have helped the Tigers win a game this year. Another rookie is Alex Avila. If he can start hitting, he should become the everyday catcher. That's because Gerald Laird, the out of two legs, can't hit very well. AT ALL!
Either way, it's shaping up to be a very entertaining summer!
GO TIGERS
well said. i DO love my Tigers!!
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