Fear not

The Tigers bullpen has fallen on hard times again and there's word Detroit might trade for Kyle Farnsworth. That's not a big surprise considering Farnsworth did some of his best work for the Tigers a couple years ago.

I like what Jim Leyland had to say following the game.

"If you can't throw strikes up here, you can't pitch up here," Leyland said. "You've got to change, or we'll look elsewhere. If you're picking and picking because you're afraid of a bat, you might as well go home."

I couldn't agree more. I was having this very discussion with someone Wednesday night. It's amazing how often a reliever is brought into a situation -- say, to get a lefty out -- and they walk the guy. Please, come in and throw strikes. The great relievers were guys that challenged hitters; if they got beat, at least they made the other team do something rather than give it to them.

We were talk about Cole Hamels, who despite giving up 22 HR so far this year, which is 1.5 per start, has a 3.63 ERA and 11 wins. Why? Because he's only given up 33 BB. He doesn't compound his problems. Johan Santana is another; he's given up 22 HR but only 34 BB. James Shields in Tampa Bay, too. Those 3 guys rank among the top 9 for fewest BB/9 among pitchers with more than 2,000 pitches this year.