Detroit Tigers Links: Justin Verlander gets stranded and thoughts heading into the all-star break

Justin Verlander gets stranded on the side of the road before Sunday's game, Jose Valverde is still frustrating, and many thoughts heading into the all-star break. These stories and more in today's Morning Prowl.

Tigers links:

Jim Leyland makes happy summer home in Metro Detroit among Tigers fans -- The Detroit News, Lynn Henning
"On the afternoon before a Tigers night game, a media person's work shift typically begins at 3:35 p.m. Clubhouse doors open and Jim Leyland -- usually within five minutes -- alerts his media-relations crew that the manager is ready for some pre-game questions."

Stranded Justin Verlander almost misses start of Detroit Tigers game after town car breaks down -- MLive.com, James Schmehl
"No need to rub your eyes. That famous athlete you saw stranded on the side of the road Sunday afternoon? Yup. It was Justin Verlander."

Tigers should pick hitting over pitching at trade deadline -- Detroit Free Press, Jamie Samuelsen
"Despite the fact that the Tigers spent $213 million in January to bring in Prince Fielder, there are still some gaping holes in the lineup (not exactly breaking news, I realize.)"

Quintin Berry’s New Approach -- The Tigers Den, Matt Snyder
"The month of May ended with Quintin Berry as the new superstar in Detroit with a nine-game (Major League debut) slash line of .333/.395/.436 that also included five stolen bases and nine runs scored."

A Look at the 40 Man Roster -- DesigNate Robertson
"As we hit the All-Star break, it’s inevitable that the 40 man roster will be changing in upcoming weeks as Dave Dombrowski makes some moves in an attempt to put the Tigers in a better position to win the AL Central. I thought now would be a good time to run through the roster and offer thoughts on each man."

The Talented Tigers Bullpen -- Walkoff Woodward, Josh Worn
"With apologies to Jose Valverde, who has induced us all into a mass panic with his 9th inning anti-heroics, and therefore must work his way back into the hearts of traditional and sabermetric fans alike, there are four members of the Detroit Tigers bullpen that deserve significant recognition as the Tigers enter the 2012 All-Star break."

Three Surprises of the First Half -- Tiger Tales, Lee Panas
"As the Tigers enter the four-day all-star break, I'm going to list the three surprises of the first half."

Valverde Another in Long Line of Infuriating Tigers Closers -- The Daily Fungo, Mike McClary
"I’m sick of hearing about Jose Valverde‘s 49-for-49 save streak last season. We all know how that was constructed: with far too many saves that looked like Saturday afternoon’s harrowing win against the Royals."

Random Thoughts Pre All Star Break -- Motor City Bengals, Bryan Craves
"Alas, half of the 2012 baseball season is over, and as we all head to the All Star break, a few thoughts."

The Super Best Friends are real. -- Roar of the Tigers, Samara Pearlstein
"Turns out that when the whole ‘Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder in the lineup’ thing works like it was originally supposed to, the game of baseball becomes a magical land of rainbows and candy and dinosaurs riding fat ponies and kittens, kittens everywhere– or at least a Tigers win."

Around the AL Central:

Rangers 4, Twins 3: Cole De Vries Out-Pitches Roy Oswalt, Bullpen Blows It With Two Outs In Ninth -- Twinkie Town
"Twins drop their second consecutive extra inning game against the Rangers, turning a could-have-been sweep into a one-win weekend."

Royals Get Swept By Tigers, Run Risk of Being 10.5 Back At The Break -- Royals Review
"So much for being competitive at the break. The Royals tailspin heading into the All-Star Break that they are hosting is complete."

Game 85: Rays 7, Indians 6 -- Let's Go Tribe
"The Rays scored three runs off Chris Perez in the ninth to stun the Indians 7-6. A recap of the action."

Blue Jays 11, White Sox 9: Welcoming a break -- South Side Sox, Jim Margalus
"The White Sox closed out their first half with a long and ugly loss to Toronto."

Elsewhere in baseball:

Kerry Wood says he felt something in elbow during 20-strikeout game -- HardballTalk, D.J. Short
"Kerry Wood revealed something pretty interesting during a recent interview with David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com, saying that his 20-strikeout game against the Astros on May 6, 1998 on was the first time he felt something in his right elbow."

The Worst All-Star Selections In Baseball History -- Baseball Nation, Al Yellon
"The All-Star Game is supposed to celebrate the best of the best in baseball. Here are some players who were picked for the game who don't qualify for that status."

Vicente Padilla: Mark Teixeira ‘better off playing women’s sport’ -- Big League Stew, David Brown
"The continuing dialogue between Vicente Padilla of the Red Sox and Mark Teixeira of the Yankees is just as entertaining and silly — and they're not even acting."

Bryce Harper an All-Star? Absolutely! -- SweetSpot Blog, Christina Kahri
What's the news? That Bryce Harper is an All-Star after all. Sure, he may have taken the back entrance to make it into the All-Star Game."