Ranking the Contenders

With the Tigers coasting along at 6 ½ games up in the AL Central, I thought this would be a good time to look at their ranks compared to leading contenders in the east and central divisions in various hitting, pitching and fielding categories. I left out the West because every team in the division is at least 14 games behind the Tigers and presumably not a threat to catch them even if the Tigers fall back to the wild card race. The Ranks of the 6 contenders in the AL East and Central are shown in the table below. Here are the highlights:

The Tigers lead the league in run prevention but are only 6^th in run production. They are 3rd in the league in pitching (FIP) and 1st in fielding (DER). Offensively, they are 4th in the league in power but do not get on base that much (9^th). Their biggest weakness offensively is drawing walks (13^th in the league).

The White Sox rank 1st in run production but are 9^th in run prevention. Their biggest weakness is pitching (11^th) while their fielding ranks 3rd in the league. Offensively, they are better than average in every category.

The Yankees have the second best offense in the league and are 4^th in run prevention. Their only relative weakness is power where they rank 8^th. They make up for their lack of power with the second best OBP in the league. On the defensive side, they are 4th in pitching and 4^th in fielding.

The Red Sox are 4^th in offense and 6^th in defense so it’s surprising that they are 2 ½ games ahead of the Yankees. They walk more than any team in the league and are 1st in OBP but are only 6^th in power. Defensively, they are 7^th in pitching and 8^th in fielding.

The Blue Jays rank 5th in run production but 10^th in run prevention. Since the Blue Jays rank better than 5^th in batting average, walks and power, I can say that they have not been very efficient offensively. They rank 9^th in pitching and 5^th in fielding.

The Twins rank only 8^th in run production but are 3^rd in run prevention. They are 4^th in batting average but are 9^th in walks and 13^th in power. Defensively, they are 1^st in pitching but are last in the league in fielding.

Table: How the Top Contenders Rank among American League Teams

Category	Det	Bos	Chi	NY	Min	Tor
Record	65-32	59-37	58-38	56-39	55-41	54-43
Runs	6	4	1	2	8	5
Runs Allowed	1	6	9	4	3	10
BA	8	5	3	6	4	1
BB/PA	13	1	6	2	9	4
ISO	4	6	2	8	13	1
OBP	9	1	5	2	6	3
SLG	4	5	2	7	9	1
OPS	7	4	2	5	8	1
FIP(Pitching)	3	7	11	4	1	9
DER(Fielding)	1	8	3	4	14	5
ERA	1	7	10	4	5	8

No More Doubt

The Tigers should hear no more talk of not being able to play with the big boys after taking 2 of 3 from the White Sox this week. They came from behind for the second straight game to top their archrivals 2-1 today before a standing room only crowd on a weekday afternoon game at Comerica Park. It was a duel between Kenny Rogers and Jose Contreras with Contreras getting the best of it in the early going as the White Sox led 1-0 after 5 1/2 innings. Not surprisingly, it was Tiger Killer Joe Crede who singled in the only Chicago run in the 4th.

In the bottom of the 6th, Curtis Granderson doubled with one out and scored on a two out single by Ivan Rodriguez tying the game. Joel Zumaya relieved Rogers in the 7th and got through the inning allowing just a single. In the bottom of the 7th, Marcus Thames walked with one out, and scored on a two out double by slumping Chris Shelton who had failed to get a hit in his last 13 at bats. It was the second straight game that an unlikely hero knocked in the eventual game winner. Last night, of course, it was Monroe with his grand slam.

With the Tigers up 2-1, Zumaya pitched a scoreless 8th including a fist pumping inning ending strike out of the dreaded Crede. Todd Jones (who has not allowed a run in 9 straight appearances) pitched a rare 1-2-3 9th to save the game giving the Tigers a 2-1 series victory. It was series which should end all doubt that the Tigers are real and can play with anyone.

Monroe Slams White Sox

The Tigers went into tonight's game with a 3 1/2 game lead over the visiting White Sox but there was still a good deal of anxiety among 40,000 fans at Comerica and hundreds of thousands of viewers and listeners across Michigan and the rest of the country. The White Sox had hammered the Tigers 7-1 last night and had taken 6 of the first 7 games of the season series. The game had the sense of urgency of a classic pennant race game. It almost had a playoff feel to it.

Jeremy Bonderman got the fans into it right away by striking out the side in the first inning. He followed that up with a quick 1-2-3 second inning. He looked unhittable until Joe Crede, the Tiger Killer stepped up to the plate to lead off the 3rd. Crede lined a homerun to left field to break a scoreless tie. It was Crede's 16th home run in 4 years versus the Tigers. This all too common sight made Tiger fans uncomfortable in a hurry. Juan Uribe added a solo shot in the 5th to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, Javier Vazquez had retired 8 in a row and it looked like another White Sox game was slipping away.

With frustrated Tiger fans waiting for a chance to burst, the Tigers finally came through with three consecutive singles by Placido Polanco, Ivan Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez in the bottom of the 6th. Carlos Guillen followed with a bloop single to center which loaded the bases. although Rodriguez was nearly thrown out at third on a rare force play. Rodriguez was then forced at home on a Marcus Thames grounder to shortstop.

With the base loaded, Craig Monroe came to the plate. With Monroe struggling much of the season, most fans were hoping for a sacrifice fly at this point. He gave them a lot more than that though. He smashed a fly ball into the left field seats for a grand slam putting his team in front 5-2. The Comerica Park crowd finally had a chance to explode.

The Tiger pitching staff did not let the lead get away. Bonderman went 7 1/3 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk with 6 strike outs. He now has a 3.53 ERA for the season and 2.31 since June 1. Fernando Rodney got the last two outs in the 8th. Jamie Walker retired Jim Thome on a grounder to start the 9th. Todd Jones finshed it off allowing 1 hit and no runs in 2/3 of an inning. The final score was 5-2 Tigers.

Tonight's game was one of the most satisfying wins of the year and Monroe's slam should go down as one of the season's memorable moments. One of many. The series finale will match Kenny Rogers against Jose Contreras tomorrow night.

Tigers Crushed by White Sox

The much anticipated White Sox series got off to a bad start tonight as the White Sox cruised to a 7-1 victory. Nothing went right for the Tigers tonight. Nate Robertson allowed 6 runs on 9 hits (including home runs by Paul Konerko and Joe Crede and 4 doubles). He was relieved by Jason Grilli who also allowed a home run to Konerko. Meanwhile, White Sox starter Jon Garland held the Tigers to 1 run on 6 hits in 7 innings and they didn't have any better luck against relievers Brandon McCarthy and Matt Thornton.

The Tigers have now lost 6 of 7 to the White Sox. They have pounded weaker teams while struggling against stronger teams all year. Specifically, they are 3-11 against their three biggest pennant race foes(the White Sox, Yankees and Red Sox) and 59-20 against everybody else. That's a remarkable differential. So far, it's a formula that has given them the best record in baseball. However, they have 18 games remaining against the big three and you also have to wonder whether they can keep playing .747 ball against everybody else. They get a chance to start reversing the trend against the big boys tomorrow when Jeremy Bonderman faces Javier Vazquez.

Verlander Dominates, Tigers Shutout Royals

The Tigers defeated the Roylas 6-0 tonight behind the dominant pitching of Justin Verlander. The Tiger rookie pitched 7 innings allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks, all of them coming in the first 3 innings. Verlander was a pleasure to watch tonight as he had all of his pitches working and his curve was particularly unhittable. He lowered his season ERA to 2.83 which is 3rd in the league. Jamie Walker pitched 2 innings of one hit relief to preserve the Tiger's Major League leading 12th shutout.

Offensively, the Tigers had their usual balanced attack spreading 11 hits among 7 hitters. Ivan Rodriguez (3 hits) and Infante (2 hits) paced the attack. Placido Polanco added 3 RBI on a double and a sacrifice fly. Chris Shelton and BrandonInge each reached base 3 times on a hit and 2 walks.

The Tigers now have a perfect 10-0 record versus the Royals this year as they continue to beat up the weaker teams in baseball. The victory put them 4 1/2 games ahead of the White Sox who lost to the Yankees 14-3. It is their biggest lead of the season so far. Here are the standings after tonight's action:

American League Central Standings: July 15, 2006

Team	W	L	PCT	GB
Detroit	62	29	.681	----
Chicago	57	33	.633	4 ½
Minnesota	49	40	.551	12
Cleveland	41	49	.456	20 ½
Kansas City	31	59	.344	30 ½