Detroit Tigers baseball fans woke up with a start last season. Quality pitching, that rarest and most precious commodity, came to Detroit with the old English D on their caps. Pitch, which was ranked No. 1 with the best team ERA in the American League. A pitch from Justin Verlander, AL Rookie of the Year, who started 30 games for the Motown Nine and posted a 17-9 record.
Along the way, the young Verlander emerged as one of the go-to guys down the stretch for the Tigers. His playoff appearances will add depth to the repertoire of the 23-year-old pitcher who notched 124 strikeouts in 186 innings during the regular season.
Pitching the other key starters on the Detroit team which included veteran Kenny Rogers with his 17 – 8 record, Jeremey Bonderman, another hard pitching bull who went 14 – 8 and Nate Robertson’s 13 – 13 record.
By far the turning point was the arrival of Rogers, who brought his work ethic and passion for the game to the youngsters of this pitching staff. Time after time it was Rogers taking the lead, talking to his fellow pitchers between innings, the game management perspective that had the biggest impact on Bonderman, one of the few holdovers from the Tigers team that had one of the worst records. in baseball just two years earlier
Rogers, by the way, won his fifth Glove Award for being the best fielding pitcher at his position. The trophy, which sits next to All-Star receiver Pudge RodrÃguez’s No. 12 gold glove, marked one of the few times a drummer combination on the same team won both awards for his defensive efforts.
Fans who watched the postgame celebrations when the Tigers won the American League Championship have embraced this baseball club the same way they have the basketball-playing Pistons and the Hockeytown faithful who follow the Red Wings. . Rogers’ own one-man show on the sidelines as he sprayed the crowd with champagne and then emptied the magnum-sized bottle onto the flat-brimmed hat of the nearby police officer drew roars of approval from the crowd.
There is no guarantee that a ballplayer will make the playoffs. Now that the Tigers have drunk from the Champions Cup, you can feel that this team wants to get there again.
Starting pitchers take you to the sixth inning or so and then it’s the bullpen’s turn. General manager Dave Dombroski assembled a bewildering array of options for manager Jim Leyland to draw upon.
Detroit’s middle relief in the form of Jason Grilli, Wilfredo Ledezema, Zach Milner and, on occasion, starter Mike Maroth will once again be counted on to set the table for power pitchers to finish things off.
Eighth-inning specialist Joel Zumaya was stunning coming out of the bullpen with his 100 mph fastballs that challenged the best hitters in baseball. His late-season injury and his absence from the World Series were painfully felt. During the AL and Division Championship Series, the hard-throwing Zumaya simply overwhelmed hitters time and time again. He counts on Zumaya’s return to form to run for another pennant.
Closer Todd Jones had 37 saves and brought his veteran leadership and experience to the young bullpen. If Zumaya is the Closer of the Future for this ballclub, he’s got a terrific teacher in #59 Jones.
The acquisition of Gary Sheffield, who played just 39 games during an injured season with the New York Yankees, will be counted on to bring some momentum to the Tigers’ mid-batting order. If Sheffield can return to their 30+ home run, 100+ RBI power over a full season, the Tigers will be back on the playoff scene in 2007.
The AL designated hitter position is tailor-made for a player like Sheffield. Dombroski had the slugger in Florida before joining the Tigers. They both search for another World Series ring, this time with an old English D in the engraving.
