Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Division wars

The Tigers face Chicago (twice) and the Twins (thrice) over the next 5 days. I hope Detroit can get at least one in Chitown; with Chad Durbin pitching tonight, the better shot is tomorrow with Nate Robertson on the hill.

Here is how tough the Minnesota series could be: Johan Santana has the worst ERA of the three starters the Twins will send out. Ramon Ortiz (2.48) and Carlos Silva (2.74) will toss the first two games before Santana (3.44) meets Jeremy Bonderman in the finale. On the bright side, two of the Tigers' starters -- Justin Verlander (2.08) and Bonderman (3.18) have lower ERAs than their opponents.

Beyond that, Detroit just needs Craig Monroe, Brandon Inge and Todd Jones to get straightened out. Given the Tigers' starting pitching depth, I wonder how long GM Dave Dombrowski will wait to explore trade possibilities. Dombrowski will look to improve this team, I'm sure. It's too early to panic, but as tough as the AL Central is, one can't afford to wait too long.

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