Justin Verlander's Straight Dominance

A pitcher who consistently pitches more than 6 innings every start is quite rare...It does not seem like such a huge issue, but that kind of endurance as a starting pitcher does not happen. Verlander just made his 62nd consecutive start of 6+ inning pitched. Quite frankly, he usually goes 7+. This streak is only beaten by Steve Carlton (69) and Bob Gibson (78).  The fact is, is that he is also doing this while consistently allowing less than a baserunner per inning pitched during this streak. If he continues that trend of a WHIP < 1.0 for this season as well as 2011, he will be just the 7th pitcher since the 1920s to do this. 

What makes him so dominate. Well, besides his elite talent and mastery of his multiple pitches, Justin Verlander prepares more than any other to silence the biggest threats in the opposing team's lineup. Looking through Verlander's splits for different batting order positions you will see the trend. The 3-4-5 positions in the lineup are notorious for being stacked with a team's best slugger's. It goes without saying that if you can silence these bats as a pitcher - you will have a good chance of getting your team in position to win. Well, let's see how Verlander competes against these guys. 

Career:

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MVP, CY Young 2011:

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2012: 

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It is clear to see from the stats that throughout Verlander's career - he is continuing to become more dominant against the 3-4-5 hitter. He is even better in 2012 than during his amazing run of 2011. Currently this year the BA against JV from the 3-4-5 spot is .220-.161-.250 with OPS's of .676-.497-.718. He is literally taking the opposing team's heart of their lineup. While watching JV pitch you are watching a master in the making. 

Go JV!

Detroit Tigers First Half Report Card

Catcher: B

If we were only giving a grade to Alex Avila, the grade would be lower. However, Gerald Laird has turned a C+ into a B. An all-star last year, Avila has been disappointing. Especially at the dish, hitting only .242 with 5 HR and 23 RBI. Laird, in only 98 AB is hitting .306 with 2 HR and 6 RBI. 

Third Base: A

We all knew that Miguel could hit. Who wants to argue that there is a better hitter in the game? With another off year, the crown has been passed from Pujols to Cabrera. That which gives Miguel an ! here is not his bat but his glove. He has been solid all year long, exceeding the defenisve expectations of everybody.

Shortstop: C

Peralta has been a disappointment, but we might argue that he is only a disappointment in light of the unusual year that he had last year. When compared to the rest of his career, Peralta is actually on par with how he typically performs. Let's lower the bar on our shortstop and be thankful for his exceptional year in 2011 and that we no longer have to put up with Adam Everett's bat.

Second Base: F

With the failed Raburn experiment and Santiago destined to remain a utility player we need help! Jose Altuve is our guy and we have calls in to Dave D. to make it happen. We'll see if a trade can help the consistent black in our lineup. (Maybe sweet Lou will consider coming out of retirement!)

First Base: A-

Let's give Prince some credit for his rather flawless transition to the American League. This is no small deal. See the transition of Pujols to remember just how hard it is to get accustomed to a whole new set of pitchers. While he is still poor defensively, his bat speaks for itself and his presence is as large as his new contract. 

Left Field: B-

Who would have thought that we would say that we would miss Andy Dirks. He over performed in the first quarter, .328 BA 4 HR 16 RBI, filling the hole of our consistent carousel of left fielders since G Money held down the spot in 2006. Can anyone say Justin Upton?

Center Field: A

Receiving the only other A in our lineup is Miguel Cabrera. This is how good Austin Jackson has been. Exceeding all expectations at the plate in becoming a true lead-off man, while maintaining perfection in center field, Austin may get his name in the MVP conversation is he continues his good work. 

Right Field: D+

We were all hoping that this was going to be the year for Brennan Boesch to solidify himself as our everyday right fielder and perennial all-star. This hasn't been the case. For the Tigers to make a run to the World Series, this will need to become the case. The potential in Boesch's bat far exceeds that of Don Kelly or Raburn. 

Starting Pitching: C+

The good news is that we have taken a step in a better direction than where we started. The bad news is that we started with some really bad steps. Outside of Verlander, we have had little consistency, but hope that that last month of pitching is better representitive of the direction we are moving into the dog days, rather than the first month. 

Relief Pitching: B

This grade would be an A-, except for the performance of Jose Valverde. Let's remember how good he was last year and how high the bar is set. However, let's also remember that if Valverde had not blown three saves that we would be a half game out with a record of 47 and 39.

The Surprising First Half MVP In Detroit

The question of who the first half MVP is for the Detroit Tigers is not an easy one. The obvious characters in the plot lie upon the likes of our three All Stars.

Justin Verlander: His streak of pitching at least 6 innings in games that he has started is stunning. (If he stays on pace, he will pass Bob Gibson late this fall or early spring of next year at 78 straight.)

Prince Fielder: His hot bat led us to only 3.5 games out at the break and his transition to American League pitching has been flawless. (Not something to take for granted.)

Miguel Cabrera: Does anyone want to argue for a better hitter in the universe? (Is this the year that he gets his MVP?)

All of these players are certainly worthy of the title of MVP within the organization for the first half of the season. However, we thought that we would give the honors to a unexpected player for his unlikely contribution to this year's squad.

Austin Jackson: Even with that stint on the DL, Austin's numbers are placing him in the conversation for MVP not just of the Tigers, but for the whole American League.

Look at the comparison of numbers from last year to this year! Who would have imagined such progress in our young and future all-star?

Are you kidding me? Who would have even thought  that he would cut down on his strikeouts and add to his OPS in such copious fashion? And essentially double his HR and RBI??? This guy has gone out of his mind, especially when you consider that he is only at 253 AB. 

Some are mining for comparisons to Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates. We agree. Give Austin two more years and he could be a threat to comparisons to the Bucs up and coming centerfielder. 

We'll see if he holds for the second half, and if he does, look for him to have a serious impact in October.