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What if, on April 1, I told you that eight games into the season Ian Kinsler would be leading team in home runs, Jarrod Saltalamacchia leading in RBIs, Justin Verlander's ERA was 8.71, and no starter outside of Jordan Zimmermann had gone more than 6 innings?
First, you would punch me. And then you would assume the fetal position. Yet here we are, 6-2, with all of my hilariously cherry-picked stats above being true.
The Detroit Tigers are still getting some production from their stalwarts. Zimmermann has been great and J.D. Martinez has moved from revelation to optimistic to god-slayer. Still, a fair majority of the Tigers' production has been from unforeseen origins.
The bullpen, outside of a couple bumps, (hey K Rod!) has been a vast improvement over last year. They have covered for starters that have not been able to go deep into games. Shane Greene was nasty two days ago. Nick Castellanos basically won a game by himself. Jarrod Saltalamacchia has done that twice.
Sure, SAMPLE SIZE DISCLAIMER. Plenty of time for regression. But if half of these trends continue with a surge in starting pitching, the Tigers are going to win a whole lot of games.
I guess this blog is technically called Detroit Tigers Links
So here are some Tigers links. I'm only linking this one for its title. If you are looking for something to hate read today, take in this Forbes article that lambastes everything the organization has done. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (I am going to hate typing that all year) got his 100th home run ball back. And Blaine Hardy was promoted to Toledo to continue his rehab.
How long does a baseball game last??????
Far too long for this young lady.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
This link contains Prince Fielder shirtless. Don't say I didn't warn you.
The Cubs are good at many things
One of which is taking walks. Fangraphs takes a look at why they may have the most disciplined lineup ever. Also good work by their fans for the ovation they gave Kyle Schwarber on Opening Day after his ACL and LCL tear.