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Tigers Setting the Pace in the Central

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Tiger bite is back
If it weren’t for the Kansas City Royals, the Detroit Tigers would have been the biggest joke in baseball over the last 3 years. Now, Jim Leyland’s return to managing in the big leagues is as successful as he could have imagined with his Tigers leading the AL Central division at 35-18.

Due in no small part to Magglio Ordonez’ return to dominant form (.313 avg., 12 HRs, 35 RBIs) to lead the team in the three triple crown categories, the Tigers are now being chased by last year’s World Series champion White Sox.

Chicago, whose manager Ozzie Guillen once called Ordonez “a piece of excrement,” must be hoping that he won’t have to eat his words if Ordonez’ strong performance continues.

Detroit, World Series champions in 1984, have seen good times and bad in the twenty years since. Although the days are long gone since the Motown Mashers Cecil Fielder, Mickey Tettleton and Rob Deer set home run records in the pre-steroid era, and longer still since Sweet Lou Whittaker and Alan Trammell made an art of turning double plays, the Tigers had been steadily rebuilding over the last five years.

In what has to be a good sign for a city with a 20 per cent unemployment rate that could use a little rebuilding itself, everything seems to have come together this year under new skipper Jim Leyland. A strong core of starting pitchers and a solid bunch of outfielders led by Ordonez and Craig Monroe have translated talent and potential into a winning record. That’s what sports teams have to do to be successful.

Throw free agent Kenny Rogers (7 wins) into the mix, as well as a rejuvenated Todd Jones (16 saves) closing games and you have over 80 years of pitching experience to lead a solid, young pitching staff which includes Justin Verlander (7 wins) and Fernando Rodney (3 saves, 1.17 ERA, 23 IP).

With free agent closer Troy Percival already on the 60-day DL with a tear in his right shoulder and Mike Maroth set to undergo bone-chip surgery on Friday, it remains to be seen if Detroit can remain the team to beat in the Central. But for now, at least, Jim Leyland has the World Series champs playing “Catch That Tiger” and Detroit can smile for a reason other then a team batting average that wasn’t higher than the average player weight on their team.