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Yoenis Cespedes is tearing up the National League.
David Price has turned the Toronto Blue Jays into the AL’s scariest team.
Dave Dombrowski was booted from Detroit and caught on just days later with the Boston Red Sox.
There is plenty going on in the baseball world; so much, in fact, that Justin Verlander has managed to find his old form again, mowing down hitters like the JV of yesteryear, and nobody around here has really seemed to notice.
It was only about a month ago that Verlander Fear enveloped the city of Detroit. Fans nervously rattled off the specifics of his contract, becoming nauseous at the thought of paying an apparent middle-of-the-road hurler a king’s ransom over the next several years.
The reasons, excuses, and explanations for his demise were many. Here's a sampling of a few of the more popular conspiracy theories that were floating around.
- "He’s a pitcher that needs velocity. Now that it’s gone, he’s got nothing left. He can’t reinvent himself like Frank Tanana (the baseball world’s only example for this type of scenario)."
- "It all went downhill when he started dating Kate Upton. He got the big contract and the supermodel girlfriend...why should he still care about putting up eight good innings against the Indians in the middle of July?”
- "He’s off the juice now. Remember a few years ago when he looked more sculpted and he was throwing 99? Now he’s hitting 91 and is all gangly like Bill Hader. Definitely makes sense that he was getting some added “help” from elsewhere in the past."
Maybe there was a hint of validity to all three, maybe none of it held any water at all. But the fact remained that Verlander couldn’t get anybody out. In his first seven starts after returning from the DL, the Tigers won exactly zero of those games. A startling 0 and 7 team mark, albeit with one of those losses falling squarely on the shoulders of a wildly incompetent bullpen outing in Minnesota.
The hit totals were striking, as were the dearth of strikeouts. For a guy that would routinely punch out 10 or 12 batters on any particular night, the first three outings of 2015 were disturbing: 2 Ks, 2 Ks, and 3 Ks. Seven measly strikeouts over three starts. When coupled with four long balls and eight walks, things were trending very much in the wrong direction for Justin Brooks Verlander.
Slowly but surely, however, he started to turn things around. The sterling outing against the Twins. Consecutive dominant performances against Boston and Tampa (13 Ks, 0 walks, two runs allowed over 16 innings). After a hiccup against the league’s best club (KC), Verlander returned to form with a trio of fine starts, completing 20 innings while surrendering just one earned run.
And while the whiff totals haven’t been reminiscent of 2011-MVP Verlander, there’s been a healthy improvement from his practically K-less start to the ’15 campaign. He’s been living in the 7-to-10 strikeout range of late, a very encouraging sign for a pitcher that led all of baseball in that category in 2009, ’11, and ’12.
Not Everyone Is Convinced
There are still those that remain unconvinced.
They chalk Verlander’s recent run of excellence to some friendly opponents, facing last-place Boston twice and also matching up with Tampa Bay, the AL’s worst offensive team.
They might point out his hard-to-stomach 1-6 record, and how in spite of a shaky bullpen or inconsistent offense, a star pitched should never take the mound 12 times and emerge with a single victory.
Maybe the truth is somewhere in between.
In all likelihood, he will never again be the 250-strikeout, 240-inning, flame-throwing bull he was early in his mid-to-late 20's.
But if he can take this last month of performances, figure out a way to bottle it up and repeat it every fifth day for the next handful of years, I would think the Tigers' faithful would be plenty satisfied.
Verlander will get the call against the Angels tonight, a hit-or-miss club that woke up with an eight-spot in the series opener. The top of the Halo lineup is devastating, but get beyond the first five and it should be smooth sailing.
But “should be” when it comes to JV has not been the safest bet in recent years. The hope is that this stretch of six starts, with a sparkling ERA of 1.67, is the new normal, and that Al Avila does not have to go searching for a staff ace this off-season.
At one point, you couldn’t walk two blocks without seeing a “35-Verlander” jersey. He was a Detroit god.
Now, behind maybe only Matthew Stafford, Verlander has become one of the most polarizing sports figures in town.
But quietly, without a whole lot of fanfare or headlines, Justin Verlander has started to look like his old self.
The daily hardball chatter continues to revolve around the future of Brad Ausmus, the nightly star turns by Cespedes/Price, and Miguel Cabrera’s assault on another AL batting title. Rumors swirl as to which free agents the Tigers will set their eyes on this winter, how the club can be improved with a slew of big-name additions.
But the most important Detroit Tiger in 2016 will undoubtedly be Justin Verlander.
Which version it will be remains a mystery, but if recent performance is any indication, the team looks to be in very, very good hands.
