Halfway Home

Rob Sanford

It seems hard to believe, but the season is already half over. In April, if you had told me the Tigers would be at or near the top of the Central Division, I'm not sure I would have believed it. Coming out of spring training I thought pitching would be the strength of this team and the offense might struggle. But instead it's pretty much the opposite. Outside of Justin Verlander...I don't feel all that confident about the rest of the rotation. I know, I know....you want to tell me about Max Scherzer, but he's been the beneficiary of lots of run support and has been up and down. That's a case of his record being a bit misleading. The bullpen has had its ups and downs as well, but Jose Valverde, who has been shakey at times, has no blown saves so far. Let's get back to Verlander for a second. He's ended the month with a 6-0 record and an unbelievable ERA of 0.92!! You can't expect that the rest of the way....but as Jim Price would say "WOW."

I think one of the biggest stories of the first half has been the emergence of some of the younger players. Players like Alex Avila, Brennan Boesch, Andy Dirks, Casper Wells, all have done themselves proud. The big problem remains at second base...Ryan Raburn is less than adequete at the position, and Ramon Santiago, while steady, is not a long term solution. The Tigers will be sniffing around for help as the trading deadline draws closer this month.

It was an interesting article in the Detroit News about how fans feel about Jim Leyland as manager of the Tigers. Now I have been a frequent critic of Leyland in the past....but as usual, fans are using their emotions instead of their brains in judging the kind of job he's been doing. Is he ornery??? Yes. Is he sometimes arrogant??? Yes. Is he a good manager???? On balance yes. I think his biggest crime is that he's not Sparky Anderson. You know, the good hearted, gregarious joker, always quick with a quip and is a bit of a character. But next time you go to the ballpark watch him closely. Before the game..I've often seen him stop to talk to fans behind the screen and spend a few minutes with them. Or on Kids Day on Sunday...the kids get to run on the field and take a position....then a player comes, gives them a baseball and sends them on their way. But Leyland will take a child by the hand and walk together up to home plate. He then will  introduce the youngster to each of the umpires..and again..spend a little time with them. Does that sound like a grump to you??? Believe it or not...there are some people in this life that will do good things, and not expect any back slaps or hand shakes for it. I think Jim Leyland could be one of those people.