While many teams would kill for an 86 win season, just finishing over .500 is hardly what the Detroit Tigers are looking for. Having pushed it to the limit last season and then losing a heart breaking one game playoff to the Minnesota Twins has been sitting on their plate all winter and you know that they are chomping at the bit to get back at it again.
The Tigers came out of the 2009 with a solid pitching staff and everything looks to be in place for the bulk of the staff to return for another campaign. While Verlander is headed for arbitration, he will still be wearing Tigers colors next year and hopefully for many more after that. As a fan, you almost have to hope that he wins his case so his attitude is positive. Make no mistake about it, if the Tigers are going to win, they need him and his 3.45 ERA and 19 wins to be there again in 2010.
While Verlander was the obvious horse, there is a lot more to be excited about with this pitching staff. All in all, they had three double digit winners and Washburn that was sitting at 9 wins. All of them posted ERA’s under 4.00 and the staff once again looks to be the strong point of the team. Of course, anything can change over the course of a season, but fans have every right to feel a little twitchy about the hopes for the pitching staff in 2010.
While there was some concern that the down economy would have its affect on this ballclub because of their blue collar fan base, the team is holding true on the offensive end and with one or two small additions will once again be a force to reckon with. Their payroll is still 9 figures and instead of trading some of their higher salaries, they are rolling the dice in arbitration and hoping for the best. While these players are not getting long term contracts with gaudy numbers thrown at them, they are not leaving town either.
There was actually some talk about the Tigers trying to land Johnny Damon, but that seems to be more fact than fiction. However, this team may be able to stand pat and see if a star shines in the minor league with the talent that they have on their pitching staff. The addition of Valverde compliments the starting core very nicely and the offense won’t have to come up with a lot of runs to put wins into the record books.
Regardless of any further moves that the Detroit Tigers make, this is a team that is poised to once again head into the post season. Their only real competition in the division is the Twins and they are on more than equal ground with them. They have the benefit of being in the weakest of all American League divisions and will surely be able to take advantage of that and get back into the post season in 2010.
By Matt Ryan, sponsored by StubPass.com. StubPass.com sells Detroit Tigers Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and more to just about any event in the world.
Article from articlesbase.com
