A Return to Normalcy

Well, the Tigers are finally starting to roll now and the future is looking bright. Granderson is back (3 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks and 2 RBIs yesterday), Polanco and Sheffield should return soon and Guillen and Cabrera will be switching positions in the upcoming days. While the pitching has been atrocious, Verlander finally had a good start and I don't doubt that Bonderman, Robertson and Rogers will follow soon. There is no way things can get worse than they are at the moment. While I'm beginning to wonder whether Bonderman is ever going to turn into the ace he has the potential to be, he's going to be a solid pitcher for years to come. At least Gallaraga has been pitching lights out, though I doubt it will last. I suspect his performance has more to do with lack of scouting, though that's not to take anything away from the job that he's done. He has pitched very well.

The bullpen has been decent, with Bautista, Rapada and Lopez all pitching very well. It's good to see that help is coming from unexpected quarters. I think that 'pen is still going to be a liability for the rest of the year, I really believe they will be okay.

Since I never really got to write anything baseball related because of the sick feeling in my stomach thanks to the Tiger's awful start, I wanted to at least type out a few things today. A slump at the beginning of the season is never good, but I think they can overcome it. They are already climbing out of the hole (they are only three games out of first in the central) and I think that trend will continue tonight against the Rangers and in their upcoming series with a good Angels team. Despite that, I do think the start to the season will be a liability for the Tigers, mostly because they can't afford too many more slip ups. But, it's early, classes are over and I'm finding it very hard to be pessimistic.

The Tigers fucked up badly, but it's baseball season... and it's summer, so I'm just happy to be able to relax and watch. I saw a statistic this morning that the Tigers were fourteenth in the AL in runs scored before yesterday, but came into today fourth. I''m sure I'll have more on the Tigers later, but for now I'm just happy that they are winning again and I have some enjoyable baseball to watch. Even if they lose, I'm confident that they will be competitive for the rest of the season.

Now, we here at GS are going to head off and play some sandlot baseball. I'll tell you all how Brian did later.