Terry Foster: Jim Caldwell Will Be In Detroit Past 2016
By Terry Foster
@TerryFoster971
Chances are that both Tigers manager Brad Ausmus and Lions coach Jim Caldwell will survive the 2016 season and return for 2017.
The latest Tigers surge will save Ausmus. Professionalism will save Caldwell. And there is something else they have in common. Ownership loves them and roots for their every success to survive. Lions General Manager Bob Quinn went as far as to say there is no mandate to make the playoffs for Caldwell.
The man is staying in Allen Park. Quinn said it but he was parroting the words of owner Martha Ford who is a staunch Caldwell supporter.
"There is no mandate of number of wins and there is no mandate of playoffs," Quinn told the Detroit Free Press this week.
I'm convinced those are the words of Momma Ford. She wants to keep Caldwell. That might be alarming to many. But it is what it is.
Those words should not be alarming to you. I would not expect Quinn to make a public mandate because if the Lions are close to not making the playoffs, then we in the media would begin a death watch for Caldwell. So he was smart not to put a mandate on Caldwell.
If I made you GM of the Lions, what would your mandate be?
** Justin Verlander won't win the Cy Young Award this year as baseball's best pitcher. There are too many good arms in the league. Besides JV got off to a rugged start.
But he was pitcher of the month for July and it was no coincidence that the Tigers poke their heads back into the American League Central race, pulling to as close as two games of the Cleveland Indians.
He was the old JV, dominating and confident. His velocity is up and so is his control. Verlander was 4-0 in July with a 1.60 earned run average and had 48 strike outs in 42 2/3 innings. It was the first time he won the award since September of 2012 and was the fifth overall.
He is becoming more of a pitcher, something we've waited on since teams were able to tag him more. There was core muscle surgery and he needed to adjust to his new body and the way it responded. I would never call Verlander a knucklehead but he is a smarter pitcher.
Earlier I said Verlander is not going to win the Cy Young, but he is in the conversation and could steal the award with a solid two months. But right now I could place him behind Masahiro Tanaka (7-3, 3.16 ERA), Aaron Sanchez (11-1, 2.71 ERA), Chris Sale (14-4, 3.17ERA), Danny Salazar (11-3, 2.97 ERA) and Steven Wright (12-5, 3.20 ERA).
** Here is a surprise for you. I am not going to make fun of Lions tight end Eric Ebron after his latest injury and call him a bust. I know he wanted to show people that he can play in what would be his third season. But he probably will end up missing the entire season and it is a shame.
And it happened during a light contact day at Ford Field where the hearty enjoy the Lions in the morning and the Tigers that night.
I wish Ebron well. He is a good dude who never asked to be a first round draft choice. That is mostly why people cringe when his name is mentioned. simply wish him a speedy recovery.
(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com)