Jon Paul Morosi is in his third season covering the Tigers for the Detroit Free Press. He's a Michigan native, born in the Upper Peninsula and grew up in the Bay City area, about two hours north of Detroit.
He was nice enough to answer some questions for a Ball Star View From the Other Side setting up a three-game series between the Royals and Tigers starting today at Kauffman Stadium.
Here are the pitching matchups: Nate Robertson vs Zack Greinke tonight; Justin Verlander vs Luke Hochevar on Wednesday night; Kenny Rogers vs Gil Meche on getaway day Thursday afternoon.
Here are the questions and answers:
So, we thought the Tigers' problems were mostly fixed. Then they lost seven of nine. What's going on? Are the people there in Detroit still expecting the Tigers to be contending in September?
At this point, I don't think anyone is out of the AL Central race. The standings in this division are more compact than any other in baseball, and the Tigers -- while in last place -- are only four games out of first.
The biggest reason for their struggles, in my estimation, has been an inconsistent rotation. The starters have combined to go 9-18 with a major-league-worst 5.55 ERA. No team can overcome that.
Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis are all signed to long-term deals through the 2010 season. As a group, they're going to earn about $80 million between now and then. They need to pitch better for this team to reach the playoffs.
Justin Verlander, when he's right (and he's been right a lot against the Royals) is one of the nastiest pitchers in baseball. But he's had some massive struggles, giving up four or more runs in every start but one.
How worried should Tigers fans be?
Verlander is 1-6, which qualifies as one of the most surprising stats of the season to date. He's pitched better than that, but he's still been less consistent than he was the past two seasons.
He continues to say that he feels good physically, which is a good sign for Detroit. But those results need to improve sooner rather than later. It's hard to imagine the Tigers winning the division without Verlander pitching up to his capability.
Jim Leyland has to be a blast to cover, right? Every time I've talked to him, he seems honest and funny, and those are two of my favorite qualities.
Do you have a favorite Leyland story?
You're absolutely right about Leyland: From a writer's standpoint, I believe he is as engaging and entertaining as any manager in baseball. Ask him a straight question, and he gives you a straight answer.
I don't have one story that jumps out at me right now, but I will say this: Very often, when I go back and listen to the tapes of his pregame media sessions, I'll think to myself, "He phrased something better -- just off the top of his head -- than I could sitting here at the keyboard."
He's a gifted speaker, really. He has an amazing way with the English language. Fans might remember some of the brief press conferences he's had after losses, but I think he's at his best when he talks at length about a subject.
Were all 81 games at Comerica Park really sold out before Opening Day? That's insane, right? Especially with how the economy is right now...
No, the Tigers didn't sell out the entire season, but they're drawing well. They announced a crowd of 44,580 for Saturday's game against the Yankees, and the stadium looked completely full.
It was the biggest non-Opening Day crowd in Comerica history. And that was on a day when the Pistons and Red Wings had playoff games. The economy is certainly struggling, but I think that magnifies the importance of sports to the people here. The teams are Michigan's way of forgetting about the bad stuff.
OK, last question. People in Kansas City are mostly optimistic about the big picture direction of the Royals under Dayton Moore. What's the opinion in Detroit?
Whenever the Tigers play the Royals, Leyland praises Moore and says that Kansas City is on the right track. I agree with him.
The Royals have some good, young players, and we've seen that good, young players can help teams get to the playoffs. (Arizona, Colorado, et al.)
There is no one way to win a division. The Minnesota Twins traded away Johan Santana and lost Carlos Silva and Torii Hunter to free agency ... and they're in first -- four games ahead of the last-place Tigers.
Thanks again to Jon for his time.
This isn't important enough to make a whole post, but last night, toward the end of the Cavs-Celtics game, they panned the crowd and I swear I saw Mike Sweeney there in a red sweatshirt clapping along.
I'm not sure what the connection there would be, other than the A's are in Cleveland to play the Indians.
This is also an excuse to mention LeBron's windmill dunk over Kevin Garnett and most of the city of Boston last night. Good gracious.