Detroit Tigers pitching

Yeah, yeah, the Tigs are 23-13 and looking to sweep the Indians today and sitting only 1/2 game back of the White Sox. Chris Shelton got back on track with a HR, Magglio is playing phenomenal, etc. But how about that pitching staff? They only made some "minor" additions in the offseason picking up aging Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones to add a little stability to the rotation and pen respectively. Then they brought up youngins' Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya. But my, oh my, how they've been pitching. Here are some numbers to chew on:

ERA - 3.32 (#1 in the majors)
OPS - .667 (#1 in the majors)
K/BB ratio - 2.19 (#6 in the majors)
WHIP - 1.17 (#1 in the majors)
HR - 29 (#3 in the majors)
BB - 94 (#3 in the majors and coincidentally #3 in their division)
OBP - .297 (#1 in the majors)
Stolen bases - 8 (#1 in the majors - thanks Pudge)
Saves - 14 (#1 in the majors)
Save% - 88% (#2 in the majors)
Shutouts - 6 (#1 in the majors)

That's unreal if you ask me and nobody could have predicted it back in March. But hey, the season is almost 25% through and they just keep on chugging along. Here is what the starting rotation looks like at this point:

Kenny Rogers, 6-2, 3.23 ERA
Jeremy Bonderman, 4-2, 3.74 ERA
Mike Maroth, 4-2, 2.55 ERA
Nate Robertson, 3-2, 3.27 ERA
Justin Verlander, 4-3, 3.77 ERA

Verlander is bringing up the rear as the #5 starter, the worst record, and the worst ERA. But guess what? He's made 6 quality starts in 7 starts this year (QS=6 innings or more and 3 runs or less) which is the highest percentage on the team. That's a pretty damn balanced rotation if you ask me. Hopefully Mike Maroth can keep the magic working today as they take on last year's #5 starter Jason Johnson.


Everybody that said they spent too much money on Kenny Rogers please stand up...